Leader by Fate
by RadiantAura
Summary: What will happen when Naruto is taken under the wing of the murderer of the Uchiha Clan? How will this sudden change in plans effect the course of the Hidden Leaf? Rated T for language and violence. NOT ItaNaru! All chapters revised! Complete
1. The Selection

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANYTHING THAT BELONGS TO THE CREATOR OF NARUTO.**

**This is my first fan fiction ever so please leave some reviews and try not to be too harsh. Also, I do not know any of the prefixes for the jutsu styles such as futon, so I am going to write them as they appear in the English version, and I will not use any honorifics such as Naruto-kun partly because I don't understand how to use them and I don't feel like looking them up. I will also try to stick with the main characters as much as possible and I will assume that if you are reading this fan fiction then you will already know what the characters look like. Enjoy the story. **_**First chapter revised!**_

**Hidden Leaf Village (evening)**

Young Naruto was walking around the village looking for something to do. He walked past many markets to the hokage monument and looked up at the stone faces. "Someday, MY face will be up there, just you wait" Naruto said. When he turned around to go home, a mysterious masked ninja appeared in front of him and Naruto walked straight into him. "Hey! Watch where you are going!" Said Naruto irritably. The masked ninja looked at Naruto and said, "You need to come with me, Naruto." All Naruto could do was look at him strangely before they both vanished in a swirl of leaves.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Hokage's office)**

Naruto and the masked ninja appeared in front of the third hokage. "Lord Hokage, I have brought Naruto to you as you requested," Said the masked ninja. The third hokage rose and said, "thank you".

"What's going on? Why did you guys bring me here?" Naruto said.

The third hokage looked at Naruto and said, "There is something I need to discuss with you Naruto." Naruto looked at the third hokage with curious eyes. The Hokage looked at the ANBU ninja. "You may go. Carry out your mission well and report back to me." The ninja nodded and vanished just as suddenly as he had appeared.

He then turned to Naruto. "Naruto, we need to talk." Naruto looked confused and just stared at him. "Naruto, I have been watching you grow for awhile now, and I know that your dream is to become hokage." Naruto nodded and continued to listen. "However, I want you to know that being the hokage is not as great as you think. There is a lot of responsibility involved and we are not able to roam freely. It is mostly a lot of boring paperwork."

Naruto continued to listen, knowing where this was going. "Therefore, I'm asking you to give up on your dream of becoming hokage." Naruto immediately started to complain. "Why old man? Being the Hokage would be so cool! I would be the most powerful ninja and everyone would treat me with respect and-" The Hokage cut him off. "No, Naruto. There is more to being hokage than you think. You must have self-control. You must put the safety of others and the village before your own. I have seen the way you act and there is no way for you to become the Hokage with your current attitude."

Naruto didn't say anything. He just looked down out of sadness. "Listen Naruto, isn't it good enough to just dream to become jounin and maybe have a family? You don't have to be the most powerful ninja to be respected." Naruto thought for awhile. He could not believe that the third Hokage, his idol, was telling him to give up on his dream. "No, it's not good enough. I want to be the Hokage and I will be the Hokage. Just you wait!"

Naruto was close to tears. The Third sighed, but then he smiled. "Alright Naruto, have it your way." Naruto looked confused. "I can help you, not directly, but I think I have a way to set you on the right path." Naruto looked up. "Really?" The Hokage nodded. "Yes. It is a risky path, but I believe it will help you. However I must ask that you stay here tonight. Do not leave this room." Naruto nodded and blankets were brought in so that he could sleep.

**Uchiha Compound (midnight)**

Itachi moved swiftly in the night. He had already hit a few houses, dispatching the Uchiha that lived in them. Training under the ANBU had its advantages. He could cover his emotion extremely well. Killing members of his own clan was not his desire, but it had to be done, for the sake of the village. He eliminated more of the members. He moved silently, taking every precaution to not make the slightest noise.

Finally, he arrived at his own house. He hesitated for a moment. _*No,*_ He thought, _*they must die too.*_ He crept into the house and stood over his father and mother as they slept. He raised his sword, and silently stuck it into each of them; making sure that neither of them made a noise. He then looked down at their bodies and began to let his sadness show. Just then, Sasuke, his younger brother, walked in.

"Brother?" He looked at the bodies of his parents. "Mother? Father? Mother?" Tears started to form in his eyes. He then looked at Itachi and saw his blade soaked in blood. "Brother…why brother? Why?" Sasuke was overwhelmed with emotions and tears rolled down his face. He stared at Itachi through his blurry eyes. Then he was unconscious.

Itachi had hit him just hard enough to knock him out. He exited the house and headed back to the Hokage's office. He jumped from roof to roof, trying to supress his emotions. His training failed him for a split second though, as a single tear fell from his eye.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Hokage's office, morning)**

Naruto awoke to the bright sun shining in his eyes. "Ah, goodmorning Naruto." He turned to see the Third Hokage sitting in his chair. Naruto stood up and rubbed his eyes. All of a sudden, the ANBU ninja from the day before appeared in the office kneeling in front of the Hokage's desk. "It is done," said the ninja. The Hokage nodded. "Very well." Naruto looked confused. "What's done?" The Hokage motioned for the ANBU ninja to stand up and looked at Naruto.

He didn't say anything for awhile. The third hokage sighed, "Naruto, the uchiha clan was eliminated last night. Only Itachi here and Sasuke remain." Naruto could not believe what he heard. "What do you mean?" He said. "I meant exactly what I said, the Uchiha clan is now nearly extinct," said the third hokage. "I ordered Itachi to eliminate the Uchiha clan because the elders of the uchiha were plotting to overtake the Hidden Leaf Village."

Naruto turned and looked at Itachi. "How could you… kill members of your own clan?" Itachi removed his mask to reveal his face. His face was nearly emotionless as he held the mask at his side. "I followed orders to ensure the safety of the Hidden Leaf Village, that is what it means to be a… former member of the ANBU black ops."

Naruto looked at him with a confused look. "What do you mean by former member?" Itachi looked at the third hokage. The third hokage said, "Itachi murdered an entire clan, even though he was under orders… he is still now considered a traitor."

"So what do I have to do with this?" Naruto asked. The third explained, "As you may have noticed, the villagers do not treat you like other children." Naruto frowned a little. The third continued, "So, in order to provide you with a better training environment, I am going to send you out of the village with Itachi." Naruto's eyes widened. "WHAT?" he exclaimed. "WHY ARE YOU SENDING ME AWAY FROM THE VILLAGE?" Naruto tried to calm himself down a bit. "Why can't you just put me into the academy like all of the other ninjas?" The Third said, "I believe that you have the potential to become a great ninja, but you need to be privately tutored away from the village."

Naruto stood still as he tried to absorb all of this. Itachi finally spoke, "Naruto, I will teach you how to be a great ninja. With my guidance, you may even have a chance to become the hokage." Naruto looked up in disbelief. "Do you really mean that?" Itachi responded, "You might be able to, but I won't know until I have had a chance to train you." Naruto thought about it for a minute. The third added, "This does not mean that you will be a rogue ninja, nor does it mean that you are not welcome in this village. I just believe that it is best if you go with Itachi."

Naruto looked at the third hokage, "What about Sasuke?" Itachi frowned and said, "I don't think Sasuke will like me very much once he realizes that I killed the members of our clan…" Naruto also frowned. The third hokage spoke up, "So what do you think Naruto?" Naruto looked at the ground pondering his decision. He finally looked up and said, "Ok, if it will make me strong, I will go with Itachi." The third hokage smiled and said, "Good, now go pack whatever provisions you need," Naruto turned around to leave. "and Naruto?" Naruto looked at him. "Good luck," said the Third Hokage as Naruto left the room.

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the introduction. Please leave a review and remember that this is my first fan fiction. I plan to make chapters longer than this but since this is my first chapter ever i decided to make it short.**


	2. Protection

**Hey everyone. Thanks for the reviews from chapter one. I would like to thank **_Grim_Neji64_** for giving me a list of honorifics and correct prefixes for jutsus. I'm debating on whether or not to use honorifics. Anyway, on to the story! **_**Chapter Revised!**_

_*Italics*=_ thoughts **Bold=** jutsu _**"Bold Italics**_= Nine-Tails Voice

**Hidden Leaf Village (Main Gate)**

Itachi was waiting patiently for Naruto to arrive. He was re-examining his ninja tools, his shuriken in particular. *_I wonder what area he excels in.* _Itachi thought as he put away his shuriken and looked up at the clouds. _*If he excels in ninjutsu, then I should have no problem training him. But what if he is good at taijutsu or finds himself fascinated with weapons such as pole arms or tonfas? I can't train him very well to use those weapons.*_ Itachi shook off the thought and leaned against the wall near the gate.

He could still hear the Third Hokage's voice in his head, telling him the plan. He barely made it out of the Uchiha compound in time. He had almost been caught by the jounin, Kakashi, on his way back. Itachi sighed. "I guess it was all luck after all." Itachi was more nervous than he felt like he should be. He had never trained anyone before. He was taught to keep his emotions in check by yhe ANBU. It was one of their main rules. _*Emotions will get you killed before they help you.*_ Itachi sneered. "Emotions didn't hurt me last night…"

He stopped as an image flashed through his head. It was his younger brother, Sasuke, crying in front of him. Itachi pushed the image aside and brought his feelings back under his control. "I'm sorry, little brother."

**Hidden Leaf Village (Naruto's Apartment)**

Naruto was running around his apartment making sure that he had everything. "Ok, I have clothes and food, so what else do I need?" Naruto looked around and scratched his head. "Aw man, how am I supposed to train? I don't have any weapons. I don't know any jutsu. And worst of all I'm not even a genin!" Naruto ran all around his apartment trying to figure what else to bring.

"I'm so lost! I'm leaving the village today with a guy I don't know and the only thing I do know about him is that he killed his entire clan." Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. "He killed his entire clan…how do I know that he won't kill me too?" Naruto shook the thought out of his head. "There's no way the old man Hokage would put me in danger right?" Naruto laughed nervously. He stopped arguing with himself and decided that the best thing to do was to meet up with Itachi and ask him what he should bring. He grabbed his bag, left his apartment and locked the door.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Main Gate)**

Itachi heard footsteps and turned his attention to the road. He saw Naruto running in his direction. _*Looks like he is ready to go.*_ Naruto skidded to a halt in front of Itachi. "Hey Itachi, I think I'm ready to go now." Itachi looked at the bag that Naruto was carrying. "What is that Naruto?" Naruto looked confused and said, "These are my clothes and provisions that I'm taking with me." Itachi shook his head. "Naruto, leave the bag. This isn't a vacation you know." Naruto looked worried and said, "What do you mean?" Itachi sighed. "We don't need food and we only need two sets of clothes including what we are wearing. Trust me, extra weight will just slow us down."

Naruto sighed and took off his backpack. He emptied the contents except for a pair of clothes and put the pack over his shoulders. "Alright, let's go Naruto." Itachi turned toward the main gate. Naruto turned to look at the village. He frowned as he turned back towards Itachi. Naruto followed him out of the village, leaving his home behind.

**Wilderness near Hidden Leaf Village**

"Itachi, where are we going exactly?" Naruto asked as they walked along the road. Itachi took his time coming up with an answer. "We are going to a place where we can hide and train in secret." Naruto looked at him curiously and said, "Where is that?" Itachi opened his mouth to answer but suddenly jumped to the side to dodge a kunai that was thrown at him. "Naruto, hide!"

Naruto obeyed and hid himself in a small bush. A female ninja appeared on a tree branch a few yards away. She had long purple hair and was wearing ANBU attire with a ceramic mask over her face. "Come on out Itachi. We know that you are here."

Itachi came out from hiding behind a tree trunk and looked up at the ANBU ninja. "Ah, there you are Itachi." Said the female ANBU. Itachi looked at her without emotion and said, "What do you want Yugao?" Yugao kneeled and bowed her head and said, "By order of the hokage, we are to eliminate you, Itachi Uchiha, rogue ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Itachi stared her down. "You are?" He looked around casually, inspecting the trees. "So where is your partner?" Just then, a ninja put a kunai up to Itachi's throat. He was a tall ninja who also wore ANBU attire and a ceramic mask. Naruto's eye's widened. He had a more muscular build than Itachi and had short black hair. Itachi seemed to have no reaction and just glanced over at the ninja._ *So he was waiting for me to reveal myself so he would a have an opportunity?*_ The male ANBU member said, "You should know better than to let your guard down Itachi, especially when in the midst of the enemy."

Itachi smirked and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The male ANBU gasped and said, "Where the hell did he go?" Itachi appeared a few yards behind them. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** A huge flame erupted from Itachi's mouth and formed a massive fireball which was about the size of Itachi in diameter. The flame shot forth and engulfed several trees in a fiery inferno. Yugao jumped from the tree to dodge, but her partner was not as quick to react. Once the fire died down, the male ANBU was revealed to be a crisped corpse.

Yugao ran at Itachi.**"Ninja Art: Leaf Blade Illusion!"** Two replicas of Yugao phased into existence on either side of her as she pulled out her sword. **"Sharingan,"** muttered Itachi as three tomoe appeared in his red irises. Itachi could now clearly see Yugao's movements and he brought his right arm up to block the attack. All three Yugao jumped into the air and brought each of their blades down at a different angle and speed to ensure that they hit Itachi. Itachi timed the hits and right as the first sword landed on his arm he said, **"Fire Style: Clone Explosion!"** Itachi's body exploded with great force that sent the real Yugao flying and dissipated the two fake ones.

Naruto watched in awe seeing Itachi defeat both ANBU members with no trouble at all. Itachi appeared behind Naruto. "Let's go Naruto, hurry. We need to reach the hideout before they send more ninja." Naruto nodded his head to agree with Itachi. Itachi led the way as Naruto stared at him with huge eyes. _*I can't wait to become a powerful ninja like Itachi….sensei.* _

Naruto followed Itachi as they ran. He had no idea where they were going. Naruto had never been outside the village before. In fact, he had never been allowed to go outside the village. The Third Hokage was pretty strict about that. Naruto sighed as he remembered the village. A part of him wanted to go back, but he knew that once he chose to go with Itachi, there was no turning back.

Naruto sighed and forced himself to smile. _*At least I will be trained by a strong ninja. Itachi-sensei took care of those two ninja back there so easily!*_ Naruto smiled for real as he looked at Itachi. "Itachi, sir, how much farther? I'm getting tired." Itachi shook his head. _*This might be more work than I thought.*_

**Thanks for reading my second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed the first battle scene between Itachi and Yugao. Next up is a small time skip and Naruto's training. By the way if at any time you feel lost or confused please leave a review or send me a message. I welcome any feedback and ideas you might have to make my story more enjoyable. Thank you and please review!**


	3. Training

**Hi everyone. If you have read to this chapter, then you are probably hooked on my fan fiction. I have found a website that has info about the Naruto series and I am reading up on my facts. This has caused me to change my thoughts about the 'final' outcome of Naruto's abilities. However we are nowhere near the final Naruto, since he has not even started training yet. Now without further stalling, on to the chapter!**

**Forest near Hidden Leaf Village**

Itachi was slowly walking through the forest with Naruto following closely behind. Itachi was the first one to break the silence. "Look around you Naruto. Examine the bushes and trees carefully. In order to be a ninja, you must always be aware of your surroundings" Naruto started to look around while listening to Itachi. He noticed how tall the trees were and was surprised at their height. He also scanned the area around him and tried to see the landscape an Itachi was.

Itachi stopped and turned around to face Naruto. Naruto looked up at Itachi with a confused look. Itachi said, "Naruto, from now on you will call me sensei. I will teach you what I know eventually, but first we will start with basic survival." Naruto looked at him and said, "What do you mean by survival Itachi?" Itachi glared back at him and Naruto caught his mistake. "I mean, Itachi-sensei."

Itachi nodded with approval and explained. "Well, first of all I am going to show you how to determine what plants you can and cannot eat, and then later I will show you how to make traps to catch wild animals." While Itachi was talking, Naruto gave him absolute attention. Within days of meeting him, Naruto had not only come to envy Itachi, but also to respect him as a strong ninja.

**Forest near Hidden Leaf Village (time skip)**

Naruto woke up early to check the traps he had set last night. It had been two years since he had left Hidden Leaf Village with Itachi. Naruto had trained himself to be a light sleeper and had mastered the art of setting traps and analyzing the landscape for the slightest disturbance.

Naruto heard footsteps coming from his left side. Since he had not learned any jutsu and had limited taijutsu, he dove into cover. He peered around and saw a familiar purple-haired woman. _*Yugao again,*_ Naruto thought as he watched her carefully. Yugao had been appearing more and more often lately and had been close to finding Naruto and Itachi many times. Naruto decided that he should return to Itachi as quick as possible to inform him.

Itachi was packing up camp when Naruto arrived. "Itachi-sensei, Yugao is close by." Itachi said to Naruto without looking up, "I know, I think it is time we changed sites anyway." Naruto started to help Itachi pack up and proceeded to ask questions. "Why is Yugao always hunting us down?" Itachi stopped packing up and decided to let Naruto finish. "Well Naruto, I am a rogue ninja and Yugao is in the assassination division of the ANBU. That means that she has been assigned to deal with me personally. I know Yugao well enough to know that she takes her work very seriously."

Naruto seemed satisfied with that answer and finished tearing down the camp site, making sure to leave no trace of their presence. He looked up at Itachi and nodded his head, signaling that he was done. Itachi turned and started walking towards a large boulder. "Naruto, I think that it is time that we move in to the Uchiha Hideout." Naruto looked at him with curiosity. "Wait a minute, are saying that you have access to a hideout and we are only just moving in now?"

Itachi touched the boulder and it vanished, revealing a small trapdoor. "Yes, we are moving in just now because not only have you mastered the art of survival, but also because we cannot hide from Yugao forever in this forest." Naruto seemed to understand his reasoning, but he still could not hide the fact that he was a little disappointed. Both Itachi and Naruto jumped into the hole revealed by the trapdoor, and fell into the darkness.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi took a few steps forward in the complete darkness that filled the hideout. **"Fire Style: Searing Flame Jutsu"** Several tiny fireballs flew from Itachi's mouth and one by one, candles along the side of the hideout lit up. Naruto looked around in amazement as the wide stadium-like room slowly grew brighter. "This is our new home Naruto."

The room had a light grey color covering every surface and a big hokage-style obsidian chair in the center of the far end of the room. Naruto finally gathered the courage to ask a question that he had wanted to ask ever since he saw Itachi fight Yugao for the first time. "Itachi-sensei, can you teach me how to use jutsu?"

Itachi looked at Naruto with a curious look. "Why do you ask Naruto?" Naruto looked down with a sad look, "Well, when I heard Yugao coming I noticed how defenseless I was and I think that jutsu will make me stronger." Naruto looked up with a huge smile. "Besides Itachi-sensei, I want to be as strong as you someday."

Itachi looked at Naruto with a faint smile. "Alright Naruto, I will teach you one jutsu for now." Itachi put his hands together in a lowercase t-shape and said, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu."** A puff of smoke appeared next to Itachi and revealed an exact clone of him. Naruto stared in awe and quickly mimicked the hand sign and said, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Itachi looked at Naruto in disappointment as the puff of smoke revealed a flimsy rubber-like Naruto. Naruto looked at it with his mouth open in disbelief. "What the hell, I did exactly what you did. Why did that THING show up instead of a clone?" Itachi explained, "Creating a clone requires a certain level of chakra control. You need to focus your chakra into your hands and then transfer it into an empty space nearby."

Naruto tried again, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu."** This time, after the smoke cleared, a fat rubber Naruto was revealed. Naruto sighed and dissipated his 'clone'. "You should concentrate on distributing your chakra evenly." Itachi said. "I will use my Sharingan and watch you until you make a perfect clone." Naruto groaned and continued his training.

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you find this chapter a little on the boring side then wait until chapter four because I will restart the action.**


	4. Training II: Shadow Clone

**Hello viewers of Leader by Fate. Thanks for all of the reviews. Currently I have 400 hits on this story since chapter 3 came out. I can't believe that I actually wrote chapter three in one night. It was Valentine's Day and I had a lot of energy. I will try to make a new chapter every week from now on, maybe twice a week. Anyway, back to Naruto and Itachi.**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto collapsed, finally exhausted from his tremendous effort on the shadow clone jutsu. Itachi sighed and stood up. He had been sitting the whole time as he watched Naruto through his sharingan. "Looks like he is finally out of it," Itachi said as he walked over to examine Naruto. _*I can't believe how much stamina he has. Even though he is still ranked as a genin, his stamina is equal to some chunnin.*_

Naruto was out cold and looked peacefully exhausted after spending more than six hours straight trying to master the shadow clone jutsu. Itachi deactivated his sharingan and picked up Naruto. He carried Naruto to a nearby bed in the back room and set him down. He then stepped back into the main room and sat in his obsidian chair.

As Naruto slept, Itachi planned out the next few months of Naruto's training. _*It would be in his best interest if he became an official genin of the hidden leaf. But, Yugao might notice him and hold him hostage. I must protect Naruto at all costs, even from the Hidden Leaf Village. The Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him is precious cargo and must be kept secret. After all, that is the REAL reason the third hokage sent him with me.*_

Itachi snapped out of his deep thought when he heard Naruto groan. He turned around in his chair and saw Naruto standing in the doorway. Naruto rubbed his eyes and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's get back to training." Itachi had a slight grin on his face and replied, "Alright, continue your work from earlier."

Naruto nodded his head and formed a small cross with his hands. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** A puff of smoke appeared next to him and revealed a mirror image of Naruto. Itachi's grin grew even bigger as he said, "Well done Naruto. Now you must learn to control your clones separately from yourself. Let the real training, BEGIN!"

**Hidden Leaf Village (same time)**

The sunlight was shining into the Hokage's office. It reflected off of a picture on his desk and onto his face. The third hokage moved the picture just as an ANBU ninja appeared in front of him. The female ninja bowed before him and said, "Lord Hokage, I have lost track of Itachi Uchiha again." The hokage stood up and looked out of his balcony window behind his desk.

"Itachi has remained unseen for two years now. I think that it is almost time to put him down as 'wandering' and stop the hunt." Yugao looked up and said, "Lord Hokage, give me one more month to find him. I promise that I won't let you down. Itachi will be brought to justice." The third hokage closed his eyes and pondered the thought. _*One more month hmm? I think Itachi can stay hidden for another month, but Naruto must also remain out of sight for that time.*_ He looked out into the village. "Alright, you have one more month."

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto and Itachi were both panting form their workout. Both were covered in scratches and light bruises. Itachi stood up straight and stretched. "You did very well Naruto. Even though I didn't use my sharingan, you still put up a decent fight." Naruto grinned at the sound of praise from his idol. Naruto sat on the floor and rested while Itachi walked to a room on the right side of the main hall.

Itachi came back out and tossed a rice ball at Naruto, which he caught. "Thanks Itachi-sensei." Itachi sat in his obsidian chair and ate his food. Naruto took this opportunity to talk. "Itachi-sensei, when can we go back to the village?" Itachi kept a black face and said, "I'm not going back, I'm a rogue ninja so they will kill me on sight."

That answer did not satisfy Naruto and he asked another question. "Well, YOU are the rogue ninja, but what about me? Can't I go back to the village?" Itachi sighed and started to tell Naruto his plan. "Well Naruto, I was planning on sending you back to become an official genin. But we should wait a little bit longer to make sure that they have listed me as a 'wandering' ninja."

Naruto looked confused. "What does that mean?" Itachi looked up and looked at Naruto. "A wandering ninja is a rogue that the ANBU is not actively pursuing. This means that they will still kill me if they see me, but they won't come looking for me." Naruto nodded in agreement and asked another question. "So when do you think they will list you as 'wandering'?" Itachi replied, "It should be soon, but we will stay hidden until we are sure. We will give them another two months to label me in our favor." After hearing that, Naruto decided that it was time to rest up and he wandered off to bed.

**Uchiha Hideout (two months later)**

Over the past two months Naruto had greatly increased his capability with his shadow clones. He was now able to create four stable clones without them having diminished qualities such as a slower reaction time. His max amount of clones was around thirty, however creating that many put a huge amount of stress and fatigue into him. Not to mention that the clones were pretty much worthless except for looking strong and intimidating others.

Itachi and Naruto were currently sparing and it looked as though Naruto was winning, however… **"Fire Style: Scorching Flames Jutsu." **Itachi had trained his searing flames jutsu and now the would-be fireballs were about four inches in diameter. Naruto had trouble dodging all of the flames and two of his clones disappeared in puffs of smoke.

The remaining three Narutos regrouped and launched a counter-attack. One clone ran straight at Itachi while another flanked him on the right and the real one followed closely in the shadow of the first. Itachi still refused to activate his sharingan or use any high level jutsu such as a normal fireball. Itachi threw three kunai at the clone flanking him and punched the first clone in the gut, causing both of them to vanish in a puff of smoke.

The original Naruto shot straight at Itachi and landed a kick to his side. Itachi flew sideways but caught himself in midair and landed on his feet. Itachi smirked and said, "That's enough for today Naruto." Naruto also grinned slightly while panting and said, "Alright Itachi-sensei." Itachi stood up straight and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, it has been two months. I think it is time." Naruto looked up with a curious face, and then remembered and grinned ear to ear.

**Thanks for reading. Sorry for the mild cliffhanger but I'm stopping at about 1200 words for now. I gotta keep my readers up to date with new chapters. Please review. Next up is genin academy, then more training, and eventually the chunnin exams.**


	5. Return to the Hidden Leaf

**Hello viewers. First of all I would like to give thanks to Echo Uchiha and saya420 for their repetitive positive comments on my story. Also, there is a change of plans. I have drawn up an outline for this story up to chapter fifteen. This enables me to write each chapter much faster and decreases the delay between chapters. So I will update this story as fast as I can. Enjoy!**

**Uchiha Hideout (exit)**

Naruto looked up at the hole in the ceiling of the hideout. "Are you sure that it is alright if I go Itachi-sensei?" Naruto turned around to look at Itachi with a curious face. Itachi had a slight grin and said, "Yes Naruto. It is time for you to join the academy. I might be a great ninja, but I am not a teacher. There are some things that you can only learn from the academy."

Naruto looked satisfied with that answer and stared back at the hole. Itachi said, "Naruto, don't forget to talk to the hokage about your papers." Naruto nodded his head to show that he heard him. He sighed and with one jump he easily cleared the top of the hideout. Itachi looked after him and had a thought cross his mind. _*I hope that the third hokage hasn't changed his mind.*_

**Forest near Hidden Leaf Village**

Naruto stretched and inhaled deeply. It had been quite a while since he had been outside. Ever since Yugao appeared last time, both he and Itachi had been staying underground. Naruto examined his surroundings. He was once again able to hear and see the things that he had missed like the chirping of birds and the smell of nature. _*Itachi said that Yugao should have given up on him by now, but I should still keep my guard up just in case.*_

Instead of going straight to the Hidden Leaf Village, Naruto decide to get a good feel for the area around the hideout. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu." **Twenty Naruto clones appeared in a giant cloud of smoke. The original Naruto looked at them and said, "Alright everyone, split up and scout this area so that I can find my way back." All of the Narutos replied in unison, "Yes sir!" Every Naruto took off in a different direction while the original sat down and took a nap.

**Forest near Hidden Leaf Village (20 minutes later)**

Naruto woke up to the faint sound of a clone vanishing. He stood up and collapsed all of his other clones. He stood still for a minute as he collected all of the information gathered by his clones. Naruto then started to walk off in the direction of the village. As he neared the village, he began to hear the unfamiliar sound of people crowded together and talking to each other. Naruto knew that he would stick out so he decided that he would follow closely behind a merchant wagon.

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Once he got past the gate, Naruto detached himself from the wagon and looked around at the village. He was amazed at how neat the village looked. There was no trash on the ground and the streets weren't crowded with hundreds of people. He looked around at the many two story houses with amazement. Without even thinking, he leapt onto the nearest house to get a better view.

This caused quite a few people to look at him in a strange way. He took no notice of them and started heading in the direction of the hokage mansion. He hopped from roof to roof and drew nearer to the mansion. He dropped down in front of the familiar house of the hokage and started to climb the stairs.

**Hokage's Office**

Naruto politely knocked on the door that led to the Hokage's office. He heard the third hokage say, "Come in," and he walked through the door. The third hokage had his official straw hat of the hokage hanging on the back of his chair and was wearing the official hokage robes. "Well there's a face I haven't seen in years! Welcome back Naruto." The hokage stood up and walked over to Naruto. He placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Hey old man! Didn't think you would see me so soon did you?" said Naruto playfully. "What can I do for you Naruto?" said the hokage. Naruto's face grew serious. "Well, actually I was hoping that you could put me in the academy." The hokage looked at Naruto with a sad face. "Well Naruto, it's not that easy. You are far too old to put in the academy now. Why, you are already eleven! Surely you do not mean to be put in for only one year?"

Naruto looked at the hokage with a grin of confidence. "Yep, that's what I plan on doing. I have the papers right here which have the information needed to get into the academy." Naruto handed over his papers and the hokage glanced over them briefly. "Well Naruto, this all looks good but I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to join just yet."

Naruto gave the hokage a curious look waiting for him to finish. "Naruto, in order to join the academy for the last year alone, you must be tested to make sure that you have the proper skills that are equal or greater than a ninja of your age." Naruto grinned and said, "Oh well that's easy, just watch." Naruto made a hand sign and said, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu."**

Once the usual smoke disappeared, a shadow clone of Naruto was standing next to him. The Hokage's eyes widened slightly. _*So Itachi, you have taught him the shadow clone technique…*_ Both Narutos looked up and said at the same time, "So, what do you think?" The Hokage smiled and said, "That is good enough; take these papers and go to the academy." Naruto smiled and headed off to the academy with the papers.

**Leaf Ninja Academy**

Naruto opened the door to the class room and walked inside. Apparently there was a class in session right now because immediately all eyes were on him. He became a little nervous but crossed the room to the teacher. He handed the papers to the teacher, who looked over them cautiously. The teacher spoke up and said, "Alright, class, we have a new student. His name is Naruto Uzumaki and he will be joining us for year of graduation."

Everyone looked stunned and turned their heads to look at the new student. Naruto was wearing an orange shirt and blue pants with shin guards underneath. "Naruto," the teacher said, "why don't you go sit down next to Sasuke?" Naruto nodded and sat down next to a guy wearing a blue shirt with a red and white fan on the back of it. He looked over and said, "Nice to meet you Sasuke." Sasuke looked over at Naruto and said with a harsh tone, "Shut up newbie. What makes you think that you are even half as good as me?"

The entire class looked over at the two of them as Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other. Naruto had a huge grin on his face. Sasuke looked at him and got even angrier. "What the hell are you smiling at?" Naruto just grinned and said, "You are going to be a fun person to spar with." Sasuke stood up and grabbed Naruto by his shirt. "What did you say you little orange bastard?"

Naruto quickly grabbed Sasuke's arm at a pressure point with his left hand causing Sasuke to let go. He then punched Sasuke in the gut with his right fist and used his momentum to bring his right leg around and gave Sasuke a horse kick to his chest. Sasuke flew back into the wall and landed on his knees. "I said, you are going to be a fun person to spar with." The teacher sighed. _*Well this is going to be fun.*_

**_Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed that last part. Please review and I will start on chapter six soon._**


	6. The Offer

**Time for chapter six. I hope you guys enjoyed the end of chapter five. Get used to the idea of Sasuke being a stuck up prick because he is staying around for awhile. I will introduce a few new characters in this chapter that every Naruto fan should know, so I won't go into much detail of what they are wearing. Now back to Naruto.**

**Academy Training Grounds**

"Alright class, it is time for accuracy training." Said the teacher. Naruto looked around and saw some targets on tree trunks. He asked the teacher, "Hey Iruka-sensei, what are we using to practice?" Iruka turned to look at Naruto and grinned. "Well Naruto, we are going to be practicing with kunai and shuriken today." Naruto looked intrigued as he was handed the sharp throwing knifes and stars.

The teacher spoke aloud, "Ok everyone, grab a few kunai and practice throwing them. Try to hit the center of each target." Sasuke looked at Naruto and smirked. "Ha, I hope you don't think you can beat me at this type of training. I have been practicing with these since before I joined the academy." Naruto looked back at Sasuke distastefully. "I don't expect to be better than you when using a weapon that I've never even held before."

Sasuke brushed off that remark as he started throwing shuriken. Sasuke was extremely angry at Naruto because Naruto had been better than him during every other practice they've had. It was always the same. Naruto came in first while Sasuke came up short in second place. But Sasuke knew for sure that he could win this time.

Naruto started throwing some kunai at a target or two, but what he was really focusing on were two girls on the other side of the training grounds. He took great notice of the one called Sakura, who had bright pink hair and wore a red shirt with tan pants. But he took even greater notice of the girl called Hinata. She had short black hair and had very lightly tinted eyes in the shade of purple.

Naruto snapped out of his daze when the teacher announced that now they were throwing kunai in order to earn points. Naruto did not really care if he beat Sasuke, but he wanted to impress the girls. Naruto's throws became more accurate and Sasuke looked over at him and started to panic.

Sasuke started throwing his kunai and shuriken faster, and so did Naruto. Both of them were throwing sharp objects at an alarming rate. The teacher, Iruka, thought about stepping in to stop them, but he decided not to. Sasuke started to throw some kunai slow and then throw faster ones which would ricochet off of the slower ones and he still managed to make all of them hit their mark.

Naruto watched Sasuke closely and mimicked his movements, causing his kunai to ricochet as well. Both of them kept throwing faster and faster. Finally Iruka stepped in. "Alright you two, you can stop showing off. I cannot decide which of you is better. It is a tie." Naruto grinned but Sasuke stormed off muttering curses under his breath.

**Ninja Academy (one year later)**

Naruto looked around at his classmates. He was at the graduation ceremony and everyone was dressed up for the big day. Even though most of the class consisted of twelve-year-olds, they were all fairly skilled 'ninja'. However, they would not be considered ninja until they received their Leaf Village headband when they graduated which would signify their transformation into ninja.

Besides the students, there were also teachers such as Iruka-sensei. The third hokage was also there. The hokage looked at each of the genin-to-be and thought about what they would be like when they grew up.

The first was a boy with medium length spiky black hair in a ponytail. He reportedly had an IQ of around two hundred and was not only the most intelligent by far, but also the laziest student. His name was Shikamaru Nara. Next to him was a rather big boy who ate everything in sight named Choji Akimichi, and a blond haired girl her always talked about Sasuke who was named Ino Yamanaka.

Other almost-genin students consisted of Hinata Hyuuga and her cousin Neji Hyuuga, a boy who had the same pupil-less eyes but wore a loose white-ish shirt. Also there was Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Rock Lee, who wore a full green skin-tight suit, was talking to a boy who had a small dog as his ninja pet. The owner was Kiba Inuzuka and his puppy was called Akamaru. The last two students were Shino Aburame, who wore an off-white trench coat and a girl named TenTen who was talking to Sakura.

The ceremony was rather quick. The teacher, Iruka, would call each student's name and the student would receive their headband and walk over to their parents. However, Sasuke and Naruto did not have any parents, so they walked over and stood next to the hokage.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi was sitting cross-legged in a meditative position and was sorting his thoughts. _*Today should be Naruto's graduation. I haven't seen him since he left a year ago. I hope he learned at least a few useful things in the academy. As soon as he gets back I will start training him for the chuunin exams. The sooner he becomes a chuunin the better.*_

Itachi sensed an unfamiliar chakra and opened his eyes. He looked around and saw no one. "Show yourself," said Itachi. "whatever you are looking for I assure you, it isn't here." A puddle of water formed on the ground in front of Itachi and a human like form started rising from it. Slowly, it took the appearance of a scaly fish-like man.

Itachi examined this unwelcome guest. The fish-man was wearing a black robe with a pattern of red clouds on it. He was also equipped with a huge sword wrapped in gauze on his back and had a headband from the Hidden Mist Village on his forehead. The headband had a scratch through the symbol which meant that this ninja was a rogue.

"Hello Itachi Uchiha." The fish-man said. "I have come to speak with you about an offer." Itachi looked up at him with a curious look. "Is that so?" Itachi stood up and stared the tall man down. He was about six inches taller than Itachi. "And who might you be, rogue ninja?"

The tall man looked at Itachi. "You have no room to talk Uchiha. You are a rogue ninja too. My name is Kisame Hoshigaki." Itachi stood still and continued to look at Kisame with no emotion, which was starting to piss Kisame off. Itachi said, "Well, are you going to tell me what you want or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?"

Kisame showed his sharp teeth with disgust as he answered the question. "I have been ordered by my…superior to recruit you into our organization." Itachi replied, "And what organization is that?" Kisame smirked and said, "I am from the Akatsuki. Our goal is to capture and seal away the nine tailed-beasts that plague this ninja world." Itachi thought to himself, _*I cannot allow them to get Naruto. He is the host of the ninth tailed-beast.*_

Itachi frowned. "Then I'm afraid you have come all this way for nothing. I'm not interested." Kisame also frowned and said, "I was ordered to recruit you. If you refuse I will just have to drag you in." Kisame launched himself at Itachi and brought back his fist to punch him in the face. Itachi quickly closed his eyes and then opened them again saying, **"Sharingan."**

He ducked under Kisame's punch and attempted to sweep his legs. Kisame however used the momentum of his punch and practically climbed over Itachi. When Itachi turned around, Kisame was already in front of him and Itachi was kicked in the stomach hard. Itachi flew back several feet and skidded to a stop. Kisame was already behind him and punched Itachi in the face again.

Itachi landed on the ground a few feet away and quickly got to his feet. He made a few hand signs and said, **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."** A huge fireball flew through the air at Kisame and engulfed him. Itachi stared at the cloud of smoke created by the impact intensely. But to his surprise, Kisame appeared unscathed. Kisame laughed devilishly. "Did you really think that a fireball would score any damage on a ninja from the Hidden MIST Village? Hahahahahahaha. You are a really funny person Uchiha, but it is time to end this."

Kisame completed a series of hand signs and slapped his hands to the floor. **"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"** A blue shark animated from water and flew at Itachi. He just barely dodged it and copied Kisame's previous hand signs. **"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu."** This time, it was Itachi that animated water in the form of a shark. The shark hit Kisame hard and sent him flying to the far end of the room and into a wall.

Kisame growled at Itachi. "You're really starting to annoy me." He made a few handsigns and inhaled. **"Impenetrable Mist!" **A thick cloud of water vapor erupted from Kisame's mouth and filled the room. Itachi focused and waited for Kisame to strike. _"There!"_ Itachi held a kunai in his hand and swung his arm around his back, stabbing Kisame.

"Hehehe." Kisame said. "You should be more careful." Itachi watched as Kisame melted into the floor. _"A water clone." _Before Itachi could react, he was kicked from behind. Itachi skidded on the ground but regained his balance quickly enough to avoid another shark. "You're fast," Kisame said, "but let's see you dodge this!" He made a long string of handsigns and clapped his hands together. **"Water Style: Overflowing Tsunami!"** Water erupted from the ground and rose high until it almost touched the ceiling. Kisame laughed as he rode the tsunami straight into Itachi, pinning him against the wall.

When Itachi appeared to be unconscious, Kisame released the jutsu and the tide slipped back into the ground. He then walked over to Itachi and kneeled down to get a better look at his face. Itachi's body melted and sunk into the floor. "What the hell is this!" Kisame said as he backed up and pulled out his sword.

Everything lost its color and turned gray. Kisame looked around and saw Itachi standing behind him. "You have lost Kisame." Itachi said. "From the moment I destroyed your water clone, I have had you under my Tsukuyomi." Kisame was outraged. "What the hell is going on?" Itachi grinned. "Did your supirior not tell you about this ability of mine? What a shame. Time to go to sleep."

Gray water seeped up from the ground and engulfed Kisame, knocking him out instantly. Itachi then released the jutsu and made a shadow clone. The clone carried Kisame's body out of the hideout and across the border of the Land of Fire. The real Itachi walked back to his chair and sat down, as if nothing had happened.

**That took awhile! I was going to make the fight between Itachi and Kisame longer but I got a little carried away on the descriptions. Please review and wait until you see what happens when Naruto gets back to the hideout.**


	7. Training III: Specialty

** What is up Leader by Fate readers? I hope you enjoy my story so far. So far, over 1400 people have visited this story! However this is eclipsed by the lonely 18 reviews this story has gotten. So I beg of you, PLEASE REVIEW THIS STORY. It means so much to me even when the review is just you saying hi. Thanks and enjoy chapter seven.**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi sighed and sat back down in his meditative position. He looked around the room to see how much damage was done. The only aftermath marks of the battle between him and Kisame was a small dent in the wall and the floor, along with a black scorch mark along the ground left from his own fireball. Itachi closed his eyes and began processing his thoughts once again.

_*Even though I hate to do it, I must tell Naruto of this. He has the right to know that he will be hunted in the future. That means that I must prepare him for upcoming threats. Once I teach him a little more about chakra control and a few new jutsu, he should be able to pass the chuunin exam. We will start as soon as he arrives.*_

**Hidden Leaf Village (graduation ceremony)**

Naruto looked around at the other new genin with their families. He became a little sad until he remembered something. He said to himself, "Oh yeah, I should go back to the hideout now and tell Itachi-sensei that I am now officially a genin." Naruto smiled at his new title and started to walk off towards the village gate.

"H-hey, um, N-Naruto?" Naruto turned around to see where the voice was coming from. "O-o-over here." He turned to see Hinata smiling at him. "Oh, hey Hinata. What's up?" Hinata blushed and said, "I-I was just wondering…" Naruto looked at her with a curious look. "If y-you w-would like to come to the g-graduation party my father is hosting."

Naruto looked at her and smiled. "I would love to Hinata, but I have somewhere to be. Thanks anyways." Hinata frowned and said, "Oh, o-ok Naruto." She turned and walked back to the rest of the genin while Naruto turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the village gate.

**Uchiha Hideout (boulder entrance)**

Naruto stood in front of the boulder that covered the Uchiha Hideout. He took a deep breath and touched the boulder. He muttered the word 'release' just as Itachi had taught him and the boulder vanished. Naruto then jumped down the hole and into the not-so-dark room.

When he landed, he walked into the main room and was shocked at what he saw. He had seen worse battlegrounds but it shocked him to think that a battle took place here. He noticed Itachi in a meditating position and walked over to him.

"Nice to finally see you again Itachi-sensei, what happened here?" Itachi opened his eyes and stood up. He smiled as he saw Naruto in front of him after one year away from the hideout. "Hello Naruto, this has something to do with what I have to talk to you about." Naruto looked confused at Itachi's choice of words but waited for him to continue.

Itachi walked over to Naruto and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto, a man from the group called the Akatsuki came here. Have you ever heard of them?" Naruto shook his head and looked at Itachi, waiting for him to explain. "Well, the Akatsuki is an organization of rogue ninjas that wander the world capturing people who are jinchuurikis."

"What is a jinchuuriki Itachi-sensei?" Itachi sighed and started to explain. "Let me give you a history lesson first. There are demons in the ninja world. These demons are called tailed-beasts because each one has a different number of tails. The number ranges from one to nine tails, with nine being the strongest. Well, truthfully the nine-tailed beast has the capacity to be the strongest, but can be passed temporarily by the demons with a fewer amount of tails."

Naruto absorbed this information as fast as he could but it was overwhelming. He sat down and listened to Itachi some more. "Anyways back to the main point, the tailed-beasts can be sealed inside ninja who have enough chakra to house them and be their host. Naruto, you have one of these beasts sealed inside of you."

Naruto's eyes widened as he started to panic. "What do you mean Itachi-sensei? I don't understand. How can I be a host to one of those…demons? I'm only twelve." Itachi calmed Naruto down a bit and started to talk again. "I know this is a lot to take in Naruto, but it is the truth. Lift up your shirt and see for yourself."

Naruto did as he was told and lifted his shirt. When he did, an eight-pronged seal appeared on his stomach. He looked at it with awe and disbelief. "Itachi-sensei, how many tails does my demon have?" Itachi hesitated for a minute. "Nine…you are the jinchuuriki host of the nine-tailed demon fox." Naruto couldn't believe it. HE was the nine-tailed jinchuuriki.

"Since you house the nine-tailed fox, the Akatsuki will come after you eventually. The man who came here was trying to recruit me into the Akatsuki. I rejected the offer and fought him. His name was Kisame Hoshigaki, remember that." Naruto looked solemn and didn't know what to say. He finally regained himself and asked Itachi, "What should we do?"

Itachi smiled and said, "Don't worry; I am fully prepared to train you. You will take the chuunin exams in six months. So I have six months to make you a strong ninja who can at least escape death from the Akatsuki." Naruto gulped at the mention of death but nodded his head in agreement. "Then let's get started."

**Uchiha Hideout (one week later)**

Itachi had spent the last week testing what Naruto had learned at the academy. Itachi wasn't impressed but he decided that one year for the title of genin was still worth it. Naruto had learned some of the basics which Itachi skipped such as walking on water, climbing trees and, interestingly enough, accuracy training.

After a thorough breakdown of what Naruto had learned, Itachi started discussing their training schedule. "What is most important right now is learning what type of fighter you are and what jutsu you excel at. You can already manipulate your chakra fairly well, so we will increase your chakra control which will in turn increase your shadow clone capacity."

Naruto listened to Itachi intently, gathering all of the information about the upcoming training. He was really interested in what jutsu he excels at so he asked about that immediately after Itachi stopped talking. "Itachi-sensei, how would we know what jutsu I am good at?" Itachi looked intrigued by Naruto's curiosity. "Well Naruto, I will teach you one jutsu of each type and whichever one you can master after three tries is your specialty."

"So what you're saying is, you will teach me ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, and whichever one is easiest is what I excel at?" Itachi nodded and began to teach Naruto. "I will teach you low level jutsu of each. The first is ninjutsu." Itachi made two hand signs and said, **"Chakra Bubble Jutsu." **A blue bubble formed around Itachi and encompassed him, slowly rotating. Naruto looked excited and mimicked Itachi. **"Chakra Bubble Jutsu!"** A blue bubble formed in front of Naruto, however it was only one inch in diameter compared to Itachi's which was six feet.

Itachi grinned and said, "Well, it's not ninjutsu." Naruto frowned and waited for the next step. "Now for genjutsu," Itachi said. Itachi made two hand signs and said, **"Voice Mimic Jutsu."** Itachi started to laugh and sounded just like Naruto. Naruto followed Itachi's lead once again. **"Voice Mimic Jutsu!" **Naruto started to talk but he sounded the same, with the exception of a slightly lower voice.

Itachi shook his head. "Then I guess you specialize at taijutsu." Itachi raised his fist and punched the ground while saying, **"Crater Fist."** A decent sized dent appeared in the ground where his fist landed. Naruto once again copied Itachi. **"Crater Fist!"** Naruto punched the ground and his eyes widened. A tear fell from Naruto's eye as he screamed in pain.

Itachi had a worried look on his face. "That is strange. One of those jutsus should have worked even for a novice. You must be a specialist at something else then, but what?" Itachi started to think and then it hit him. "Naruto, I think I know your specialty, but it is the second hardest type of jutsu to master. Only talented people can perform them correctly. You should be able to perform this jutsu."

Itachi made five hand signs and said, **"Single Pronged Seal Jutsu."** Itachi's first finger was enveloped in chakra and he touched his forehead. Instantly a seal mark appeared on his forehead. "Your turn Naruto." Naruto barely managed to remember all five hand signs and repeated Itachi. **"Single Pronged Seal Jutsu!" **Naruto touched his own forehead and, surprisingly, a perfect seal mark appeared on his head.

Itachi smirked and said, "Well there we go. You are a natural at fuuinjutsu." Naruto looked confused and said, "What's fuuinjutsu Itachi-sensei." Itachi looked directly at Naruto. "Fuuinjutsu is known as sealing jutsu. It is used by the normal ninja seal items into scrolls. But a natural born sealer can place seals on people."

Naruto looked at him curiously. "What kind of seals?" Itachi pointed at his own forehead. "Well, the single pronged seal suppresses energy such as stamina or endurance. It can also reduce your opponent's strength. Since you specialize in fuuinjutsu, I will teach you up to the three pronged seal eventually, but after that I cannot help you because I cannot make seals with more than three points."

Naruto asked curiously, "What does the two pronged seal do?" Itachi explained, "The two pronged seal is mainly used on yourself. It seals a little bit of chakra in a point of your body, and when you release the seal it will give you a burst of speed, strength, energy, and it will sometimes speed up the rate at which you heal. However if you manage to put the seal on an opponent, it will paralyze them for a split second which aside from being humiliating to them is completely useless."

Naruto looked at his hands in awe while thinking about the power he could have. Just then a bird dropped a letter down the hole to the hideout. Itachi walked over and picked it up. "It's for you," Itachi said as he walked and handed the letter to Naruto. Naruto opened it and his mouth dropped open. "Itachi-sensei, I've been assigned to a team."

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I want you all to know that I did not steal the idea of Naruto being able to use seals. I honestly randomly thought of it and decided to go that direction. I have a poll up for readers to use so vote for who you want to see Naruto fight in the preliminaries of the chuunin exam.**


	8. The Team

**Hey all viewers. It is a really tough decision of what team to put Naruto on. But I finally decided so you will just have to read to find out. Thanks for all of the reviews. Before a battle I will list my suggested music for the battle with X's. My goal is to finish up to chapter ten by the 20th of March 2011. And after this chapter my story will be listed as more than 10000 words, so I will have many more readers. Anyway, onto the story.**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto was vigorously trying to figure out who his teammates where going to be. _*How do they arrange the teams? Are they based on skill? Do I get to choose my teammates? Who will be on my team?*_ Naruto was literally pulling his hair while trying to figure it all out.

"Naruto, stop worrying." Naruto looked up at Itachi. "How can you say that Itachi-sensei? I have so many questions that I want answered." Itachi grinned and sat down, once again assuming a meditative stance. "Just calm down and think about it logically," said Itachi, "what is your main concern?"

Naruto finally calmed down and sat down opposite of Itachi cross-legged. "Well," started Naruto, "I want to know how they divide up the teams." Itachi closed his eyes and started explaining. "The teams are divided into groups of three with one sensei leading them. They genin are usually assigned to a team to make it as diverse as possible. For example they would couple a heavy jutsu user with a taijutsu user and a weapons specialist, or, possibly a genjutsu user with a taijutsu user and a medium-ranged ninjutsu user."

Naruto grew calmer as Itachi spoke. "So what teammates do you think that I would get matched up with Itachi-sensei?" Itachi thought for a moment, and then replied, "I can only guess, but since it is not known that you are adept at fuuinjutsu, then they would use the next best thing which is your ability to use the shadow clones effectively."

Naruto still looked confused. "Ok, so what does that mean?' Itachi sighed. "It means that you will be paired with a taijutsu user for sure, and maybe a long-ranged ninjutsu user." Naruto thought to himself, _*Hmmm, taijutsu and long-ranged ninjutsu… I wonder who they could be?*_

Naruto shook out of his thoughts and stood up. "Thanks Itachi-sensei. I should go meet my team. I'll be back." Naruto turned around and started walking towards the exit of the hideout. Itachi called after him, "Naruto," Naruto turned around and Itachi continued, "play nicely." Naruto grinned and exited the hideout.

**Hokage Mansion**

Naruto walked up the spiral stairs around the Hokage Mansion. He was filled with anticipation to meet his team. As he reached the top of the stairs, he looked ahead at his new sensei. His jounin 'watchdog' as Itachi once called them. His sensei was wearing a red shirt that was half-covered in bandages. His sensei had long, brown, wavy hair that went just past the shoulders and crimson eyes.

"Ah, you're early, Naruto." Naruto stared in awe at his FEMALE sensei. Naruto said, "Hello sensei, I just thought that the others would be just as early." The female jounin showed a friendly smile. "Well, I guess you get to meet me first. My name is Kurenai Yuuhi." Naruto smiled and said, "Nice to meet you Kurenai-sensei."

Naruto and Kurenai waited for a few more minutes for the other two members to show up. The first to arrive was trench coat man, otherwise known as Shino Aburame. Naruto looked slightly curious at his team so far. Last to arrive but still on time, was someone that made Naruto's heart stop. It was Hinata Hyuuga.

Kurenai was the first to speak. "Now that we are all here we can get to introductions. I want you to say your full name and what you feel your strength is. For example, my name is Kurenai Yuuhi and I specialize is genjutsu." Naruto looked intrigued that he had a genjutsu master for a sensei. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I specialize in close to mid-ranged combat using shadow clone jutsu." After he said that he turned his head and smiled at Hinata waiting for her to go next.

Hinata blushed and said lightly, "My name is H-hinata Hyuuga a-and I am talented in close-range t-taijutsu." She sighed when she finally could stop talking and both Naruto and Hinata looked at Shino. Shino sighed and started talking. "My name is Shino Aburame. I specialize in long-ranged combat using my insects….and I like bugs." Naruto cringed at that and Hinata became noticably nervous.

Kurenai smiled again. "Well, now that introductions are over I can brief you about this team. We are called Team 8. I requested you three because I thought that it would make Team 8 very balanced. We are skilled in close combat, mid-ranged combat, and long-ranged combat. We will be able to handle any situation. The most important thing on this squad is teamwork. You must know when to help and when to stay out of the way. This may sound harsh but you all will understand after a few missions together."

Naruto looked excited and spoke up. "When do we start training Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai looked at Naruto and said, "Excited are we? Actually you read my mind. We are going to meet at Training Ground 4 in two hours. So after you are dismissed you should prepare to do some sparring."

Hinata spoke next. "What kind of sparring Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai replied, "I will test each of your abilities and your natural teamwork compatibility." Hinata looked satisfied with that answer and let Kurenai continue. "Now if there are no more questions, you are dismissed. Meet in two hours." Kurenai vanished in a puff of smoke which caught all three genin off guard.

Naruto stretched and said, "Well, I guess I'll see you two at the training grounds." Shino said his goodbye and walked away. Naruto started to walk away when Hinata interrupted him. "Um, Naruto?" Naruto turned around and gave a friendly smile to Hinata. "What is it Hinata?"

She blushed and said as clearly as she could, "Would you like to um, take a walk until we have to train? We could get to know each other a little better so that it won't be so awkward when we fight together?" Hinata was surprised at how good her own reasoning was and at his answer. "Sure Hinata, let's go." They walked off together even though Hinata was a little closer to him than Naruto was comfortable with.

**Training Ground 1**

Two hours had passed and Naruto was still walking side by side with Hinata. They had to go through training grounds one, two, and three before they arrived at their specific training area. While passing through Training Ground 3, Sasuke saw them and came over to Naruto.

"HEY, Naruto! We've got a score to settle." Naruto looked at Sasuke with a confused look. "What do you mean? I haven't done anything." Sasuke became pissed and shouted, "Bullshit, you always had to be better than me in the academy. Even with basic exercises you always had to out shine me. If you're so FUCKING tough, then prove it!"

XxXxXxXxX Never Enough by Five Finger Death Punch XxXxXxXxX

Sasuke dropped into a fighting stance and charged at Naruto. He thrust his fist forward to try to hit Naruto in the stomach, but Naruto swerved out of the way and grabbed Sasuke's wrist. He flipped Sasuke over and slammed him into the ground. Sasuke spun around on the ground and swept Naruto's legs. Naruto fell to the ground and Sasuke quickly got to his feet and jumped at Naruto while he was down. Just before Sasuke landed a strike on Naruto, Naruto rolled on the ground and jumped up. He formed a hand sign and proclaimed, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Ten clones of Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke and charged at Sasuke. As each clone approached Sasuke, Sasuke barely dodged each hit, making sure do dispose of the clone by countering with a punch or a kick. Naruto quickly remembered that the weakness of a shadow clone is that it is easily destroyed. After disposing of all of the clones, Sasuke attacked. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** A giant flame blazed towards Naruto. Naruto dodged to the left but was burned on his right foot.

Sasuke took this opportunity to gain speed by activating his family trait. **"Sharingan!" **Sasuke's eyes turned crimson and two tomoe appeared in each eye. Sasuke ran at Naruto with unmatched speed and kicked Naruto in the jaw which sent him straight up. Naruto cringed in pain as Sasuke jumped up after him. Sasuke tried to land another punch but Naruto did a barrel roll in mid-air and backhanded Sasuke in the face. Sasuke fell to the ground and Naruto haphazardly landed on his feet. Before Sasuke could get up, Naruto jumped on top of him. Naruto made five hand signs and his first finger glowed blue. He touched Sasuke's forehead, and said, **"Single Pronged Seal Jutsu!" **Sasuke's eyes widened as his Sharingan faded away. Naruto did a back flip off of Sasuke, pushing the arrogant asshole into the ground. When Sasuke stood up, he realized that his Sharingan had been deactivated by Naruto.

"What? What the fuck? What happened to my Sharingan?" Naruto smirked and replied, "Apparently you don't have very good chakra control if a single seal interrupted your chakra flow." Sasuke took that as an insult and charged at Naruto, but he was a lot slower than he remembered. Naruto laughed and said, "Too slow," as he jumped into the air. Sasuke looked up at Naruto and tried to jump, but his feet would not let him. "What the hell did you do to me Naruto?" Naruto didn't answer but instead formed the same five hand signs as earlier. **"Reverse Seal: Single Prong!"** A seal mark was revealed on Naruto's head and appeared to become three dimensional as it shattered. Naruto dove down at Sasuke at an alarming rate of speed and crashed his heel onto Sasuke's head. A small crater formed on the ground where Sasuke impacted. Naruto put a kunai to Sasuke's throat, but stopped short of contact. Sasuke screamed, "DO IT!" Before Naruto could act, a hand grabbed his wrist. "I think that is enough."

XxXxXxXxX End Battle Music XxXxXxXxX

Naruto and Sasuke both looked to see a white haired ninja. Sasuke said, "Kakashi-sensei?" The ninja called Kakashi said, "Stop this meaningless fighting. You both just became genin and you want to end it already?" Naruto looked disappointed and said, "But he started it!" Kakashi sighed and said, "That doesn't matter. Sasuke, get up."

Sasuke did as he was told and walked over to Kakashi. Next to Kakashi appeared Kurenai. "What happened here?" Kakashi turned to her and said, "Naruto and Sasuke got into a fight, that's all." Kurenai sighed and looked at Naruto. "Come on Naruto, you can explain on the way. You too Hinata." Both Hinata and Naruto followed Kurenai-sensei as Kakashi turned to lecture Sasuke.

**Training Ground 4**

As they arrived at Training Ground 4, Naruto finished explaining to Kurenai-sensei what had happened. Hinata always backed up what Naruto said to reassure Kurenai that he was telling the truth. "I see, so Sasuke attacked you first?" Naruto nodded and said, "That is right." Kurenai shook her head. "Kakashi is going to have fun dealing with him. Naruto, why didn't you tell me that you knew how to use fuuinjutsu?"

Naruto looked stunned at the question and replied, "Well, you asked what type of fighting we are good at, and I'm not very skilled at sealing jutsu yet." Kurenai laughed and said, "That's not what it looked like to me. It looked like you had received training." Naruto hesitated and said, "I did." Kurenai looked interested. "Who taught you?"

Naruto thought about it for a minute. _*I probably shouldn't tell her. Itachi-sensei is still labeled as a rogue ninja.*_ "No one special, just some wanderer I found while in the woods." Kurenai looked worried at that explanation, but decided to let it go as she saw Shino waiting for them up ahead.

When they met up with Shino, Kurenai started briefing them on their training. "Now that we are all here, I want each of you to go up against me one-on-one so I can test your strengths and weaknesses. This is not a battle to the death. We are just sparring. You first Naruto." Naruto grinned and said, "Ok Kurenai-sensei, here I come!"

**Thanks for reading. I hope you took my suggestion about the battle music. My brother is writing a story parallel to this one and he is writing out Sasuke's path. His story starts right after this chapter and his first chapter is already out. It is called "Fate's Repayment". Please read it and leave reviews for both of us. Don't forget to vote in my pole. You can find it on the top of my profile page. Thank you!**


	9. Uniqueness

** Hi everyone. I've gotten a lot more readers since my last chapter which made this story over 10000 words. Vote in my pole on my profile page for who you want Naruto to fight in the preliminaries to the chuunin exams. I'm planning for the preliminaries to be in by chapter 12 so you have some time. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Training Ground 4**

Naruto, Shino, and Hinata were all panting from their workout. Kurenai had fought each of them one on one and then fought all three at the same time. "I'm glad to see that you all know the basics of fighting," said Kurenai somewhat mockingly and yet praising them at the same time. Shino was leaning on a post while Hinata was kneeling on the ground.

"I underestimated the power of a jounin," commented Shino. "Yeah," said Hinata, "I didn't think she could take us all at the same time." Naruto chuckled and said, "And without even breaking a sweat. You're really strong Kurenai-sensei." Kurenai grinned and sat down with her legs straight out.

Naruto sat down cross-legged and mimicked Itachi's meditation stance. He started taking deep breaths to slow his heart rate and closed his eyes. Kurenai looked at Naruto curiously. "Naruto, where did you learn to fight like that?"

Naruto was caught off guard by the question and stumbled on his words. "I, uh, um, uh…. I taught myself." Said Naruto with an unconvincing smile. "Really?" Kurenai said as she twisted her voice to make it clear that she didn't believe him.

Naruto ignored the question and quickly changed the subject. "So, Shino, have you always been able to use those bugs?" Shino raised an eyebrow at Naruto's sudden curiosity. "Well actually," Shino started, "I became a host for these bugs when I was five years old. Ever since then I've been training with them and learning about them."

Kurenai looked worried at Naruto's unwillingness to talk about any help he received. "Ok, I think that's enough for today. We will meet back here tomorrow." Naruto sighed and said, "Ok Kurenai-sensei, see ya tomorrow." Naruto started to walk off and to Kurenai and Shino's surprise, Hinata got up and followed him. She muttered, "Bye Kurenai-sensei," and was off to follow Naruto.

When they were out of ear shot of the rest of their team, Naruto turned around. "What's up Hinata?" Hinata froze in her tracks and she started stuttering again. "W-well, I was just um…I wanted to ask you something." Naruto smiled and said, "What is it Hinata?"

Hinata blushed deeply and said, "Um…never mind." Naruto looked slightly saddened and said, "Oh, ok. You know Hinata you don't have to be nervous around me. We are teammates and friends so you can talk to me whenever you want." Hinata nodded. "Sorry to bother you." Naruto shook his head and smiled. "You're not bothering me Hinata. I'll walk you home if you want." Hinata blushed and ran over to take his hand.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto crept down into the hideout to make sure he didn't disturb Itachi in case he was sleeping. When he reached the bottom, he was surprised to see that Itachi was throwing kunai around in an almost playful way. "I'm back Itachi-sensei." Itachi looked over at Naruto and grinned. "So you are, do you like your teammates?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm teamed up with Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. My other sensei is called Kurenai." Itachi walked over and sat in his chair. "Aburame and Hyuuga hmm? That is an interesting combination. How was your training?" Naruto sighed and said, "It was exhausting. We all fought Kurenai-sensei at the same time and she still beat us. By the way, Sasuke doesn't like me very much. I fought him on the way to training."

This caught Itachi's attention. "Really now? I hope you didn't start the fight." Naruto shook his head. "Well I didn't start it but I definitely finished it." Itachi grinned and asked, "So you are stronger than Sasuke?" Naruto smiled and replied, "Yep!" Itachi closed his eyes. "Naruto, now that you have a team I am going to train you harder. Your days will be spent training with your team and at night you will train with me. Do you think you can handle it?"

Naruto thought about it for a minute. "What kind of training are we going to do?" Itachi looked at him and said, "You will see." Based on that answer, Naruto knew he had no choice. "Alright, I'll do my best Itachi-sensei." Itachi stood up and wandered off to his room. "Well then, you should get some rest. We start tomorrow." Naruto did as he was told and went to his room.

**Uchiha Hideout (after training)**

As soon as Naruto got back from training with his team, Itachi made him a pleasant dinner. "You are going to need your strength for your training." Naruto nodded in agreement and happily ate what Itachi served him. Sushi wasn't his favorite, but it is a very powerful appetite suppressor.

After Naruto was finished eating, Itachi walked over to a door that Naruto had never seen him use. It was the only door in the hideout that had a lock on it. Itachi opened it and motioned for Naruto to follow him. Naruto did and his eyes widened at the sight of the interior.

The entire room was covered in ninja tools and weapons. From normal kunai to windmill shuriken to ten-foot battle axes. Naruto gazed in awe at each wall. To his left was a wall covered with huge weaponry. It held enormous pole arms topped with spiked balls or axe heads and even spears. The wall to his right was adorned with medium sized weapons. It held katanas, scimitars, longswords, tonfas, bladed tonfas and a couple short staffs.

The far wall was mostly ninja tools. Hundreds and hundreds of multi-colored smoke bombs and paper bombs were organized according to size. Along with those were empty transportation scrolls ranging from extra small which was about half a foot across to outrageous proportions like thirty feet across. Itachi grinned and motioned for Naruto to look up. Naruto did and his mouth opened further as he saw thousands of kunai and shuriken hanging from the ceiling.

"This is what training we are starting," said Itachi. Naruto was still stunned by the amount of weapons in the room. The room itself was a scarlet color on every wall including the floor and ceiling. It was at least 30x30 and 20 feet high. "How am I supposed to pick a weapon Itachi-sensei? There are so many to choose from."

Itachi just laughed. "Practice with every one of them. Just make your decision by tomorrow." Naruto couldn't believe it. "By tomorrow? Are you sure that is enough time to choose?" Itachi turned around to face Naruto. "That's up to you, the weapon chooses you." Naruto looked confused as Itachi walked past him through the door. "Oh yeah, here's the key," Itachi said as he tossed the key behind him.

**Uchiha Hideout (next morning)**

Itachi woke up early in the morning to the sound of steel against steel. He got up and walked into the main hall to see Naruto fighting one of his clones. Naruto was using a 6 foot reaper's scythe while his clone was wielding two katanas. Itachi spectator the battle and watched as the original Naruto finished off the clone with a sweep of his scythe to the clone's back.

"Impressive Naruto," said Itachi. Naruto smirked as he held the scythe upright with it touching the ground. "Itachi-sensei, none of these weapons seem to be working for me. I mean, I can use them all pretty well, but none of them feel like it's MY weapon." Itachi sighed and walked over to Naruto.

"What you're missing Naruto, is that you are not looking for a unique weapon. You are just trying them out at random. Look in that room and find a weapon that looks unique. The best weapons to use in combat are the ones that no one knows how to use, or counter for that fact." Itachi smirked as he immediately thought of a weapon he had once used.

Naruto walked back into the room and looked around. _*A weapon that no one knows how to counter?*_ Naruto looked to his right and saw the perfect weapons. He picked them up and walked out of the room. Itachi looked in amazement as he saw the peculiar weapons that Naruto had chosen.

In Naruto's right hand was a sun-yellow blade that was about four feet long. It had razor sharp teeth carved into it and it looked like it was part saw and part sword. The teeth themselves were about two inches long and two and a half inches wide. They looked like shark teeth but were slightly slanted downward toward the handle of the blade.

Itachi however, was more curious about the weapon it Naruto's left hand. It looked like a giant fish hook. It was also about four feet long from the handle to the curve of the hook and the blade continued downward from the curve for another six inches. Right where the curve started was a thin spike which protruded from the blade straight out and that was about four inches long.

"Well, I did say to find weapons that are unique. I just didn't think that they would be THAT unique." Itachi commented. Naruto looked at his weapons with enthusiasm. "Alright! Itachi-sensei, can I try these on you?" Itachi was taken aback and said, "Um, sure I guess. But don't count on me to sit here and do nothing while you bash me with sharp objects."

Naruto laughed and charged at Itachi. He already knew how he was going to use the weapons. Itachi prepared himself as Naruto swung the sawblade horizontally at his chest. Itachi jumped straight up just as Naruto had predicted. Naruto took this chance to catch Itachi off guard and used his hook to grab Itachi's shin guard. He pulled Itachi down onto his sawblade and cut Itachi's leg. Itachi however, disappeared in a puff of smoke revealing a log in his place.

Itachi appeared behind Naruto and clapped three times. "Very good Naruto. You seem to already know how to use those effectively enough to land a hit on me." Itachi pulled a huge five-foot katana from a scroll he had summoned. "Now let's see how you fare against a longer weapon." Itachi vanished and appeared behind Naruto.

Naruto saw him just in time to duck under his slash and he spun his foot on the ground in an attempt to sweep Itachi. Itachi quickly blocked Naruto's foot with his blade and tried to cut Naruto's leg. Naruto however pushed down on his hands and grabbed Itachi's blade with his hook while in a handstand. "That's impressive," said Itachi.

Itachi jumped back and sheathed his blade. "That's enough for now." Naruto stood normally and held his weapons at his side. "Itachi-sensei, how will I carry these around?" Itachi thought for a minute. "For now you should seal them in a scroll. You're not yet good enough with them to use them as your main weapon."

Itachi walked over and sat in his obsidian chair. "Naruto, I have something that you might like to hear." Naruto raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "What is it Itachi-sensei?" Itachi hesitated for a moment and finally said, "How would you like to come on a mission with me?" Naruto immediately got excited and said, "Really Itachi-sensei? I can come on a mission with you?"

Itachi nodded his head. "It's not a hazardous enough mission that I need your help. But you could use the experience. And I also think that this will put you ahead of your teammates, and maybe even impress a certain girl you like." Itachi smirked as he said the last part which made Naruto blush and turn his head to the side.

Itachi laughed. "Yes I knew you like someone. I can tell by your mood. So who is it?" Naruto thought for a minute, _*Do I like her? Does she like me or was I just imagining it?*_ Itachi grew slightly impatient. "Well?" Naruto spoke up and said, "It's uh, Hinata Hyuuga." Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Hyuuga hmm? Does she like you?"

"I think she does but I can't tell for sure," Naruto admitted. "Well then," said Itachi, "I guess we should get going. You want to get stronger for her don't you?" Naruto looked up at Itachi. "Of course." Itachi turned around and started walking towards the exit of the hideout. "Then follow me."

Naruto walked towards Itachi but then remembered something. He turned around and ran over to a door. He opened it with the key and went inside. When he came out, he had a scroll attached to each thigh. "Alright, I'm ready," said Naruto as he ran to Itachi's side.

**Thanks for reading. I know what you're thinking and yes they are weird weapons to give Naruto. But as you read more chapters you will see why I chose this unique combination for him. Please vote in the pole, it is on my profile page. The preliminary rounds are only three chapters away. Don't forget to read "Fate's Repayment" made by my brother SearingHalo.**


	10. The Mission

**Time for chapter 10. Sorry I haven't worked on this for so long. I could make a bunch of excuses but I'll just say that I had school stuff to do. Onto the story.**

**Near Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto was walking next to Itachi down the middle of the road leading away from the Hidden Leaf Village. He still had no idea what the mission was about. He hadn't had a chance to ask Itachi. But instead of asking, he decided to just relish the moment of going on a mission with his idol as his partner.

What surprised Naruto was that they were not running to their mission point. They were casually walking along the road. Every once in a while they would pass a traveling merchant. Itachi bought two capes for Naruto and himself. The capes were dark red with a gold stripe along the bottom. "Just in case we run across ninja from the Hidden Leaf," Itachi had said, "we don't want to be recognized."

**Tenchi Bridge**

As they were crossing Tenchi Bridge, Naruto finally spoke up. "Hey Itachi-sensei, where are we going?" Itachi kept up the pace and said, "We are going to meet the contact at my other hideout. After we get more information, we will go to the Hidden Sand Village to carry out the mission."

_*Hidden Sand Village?*_ Naruto thought. _*What could we be doing there?*_ After another hour of walking, they reached a small cave and stepped inside. Itachi looked around for their contact while Naruto stood guard at the entrance.

Itachi walked out a couple minutes later with a scruffy old man covered in dirt. "Naruto, this is Fujin of the Hidden Rain Village." Naruto turned around to look at the old man. "Nice to meet you Fujin." The old man looked up and said, "Enough of the small talk. It's time to discuss your mission."

Naruto stood and intently waited for Fujin to brief him of the mission. "Your mission is to infiltrate the Hidden Sand Village and find out who the jinchuuriki is." Naruto looked stunned. "You want us to find out who the jinchuuriki is?" The old man got angry and said, "Did I stutter boy? Yes, find the jinchuuriki."

Naruto didn't want to ruin the mission by making Fujin angry so he just kept his mouth shut and let Itachi talk. "How do you want us to contact you when we are done?" The old man looked back at Itachi. "Just come back to this cave. I'll be here for the next few days." Itachi nodded and looked at Naruto. "We should get going." Naruto also nodded in agreement and said, "Right."

**Hidden Sand Village**

As they were walking through the street, Naruto noticed that they were getting strange looks from every direction. Itachi tried not to notice, but it was obvious that they were different; after all they were the only two wearing black cloaks.

The two of them came to a bar and looked at the front of it. At the top there was a sign that said, "No one under 21 permitted". Itachi looked at Naruto. "Well it looks like we split up here. I'll just go gather information in this bar," Itachi said with a smirk. Naruto looked annoyed and said, "I didn't know you liked to drink." Itachi ignored him and walked into the bar.

Naruto turned around and walked down the street. He started wandering aimlessly. "Where am I supposed to look to find information?" He turned and walked down another street. _*Little kids won't know anything, and adults will become suspicious.* _Naruto, without knowing it, was walking towards the Kazekage Dome, a huge spherical building which housed the office of the Kazekage and archives of the Hidden Sand Village.

Naruto decided to aim for the huge building and walked toward it deliberately. He noticed that he was receiving a lot of unwanted attention as he grew closer to the Kazekage Dome. People started whispering and a few actually started to follow him. When Naruto could see the entrance of the dome, he noticed two very heavily armored guards. The guards had stern faces and instantly fixed their eyes on Naruto, who still had his black cloak on.

As Naruto approached the guards, they both stood to block the doorway. "What is your business here?" asked the first guard. Naruto stayed quiet as he planned out what to say. "Hey," the second guard said, "he asked you a question, now answer it!" Naruto looked slightly annoyed although the guards couldn't tell.

Naruto softly spoke. "I would like to know where your library is please." Both guards looked stunned. "Who would like to know?" asked the first guard. Naruto slipped off his hood and tilted his head side to side, ensuring that his neck popped multiple times. "My apologies, my name is Noeme Gibuntaro from the Hidden Leaf Village. I would just like to learn about the history of the Hidden Sand Village as I hope to become a diplomat someday."

This was a bold faced lie of course, but Naruto had become exceptionally good at lying under Itachi's guidance. The guard's face was stern once more as he said, "Well then, you should know that a suspicious character in a black cloak is not exactly the diplomatic type." Naruto nodded. "I am very paranoid of being known by people. It makes me feel as if everyone is out to get me."

The guard raised an eyebrow and decided not to push the issue further. "The library is down the street on the corner, but if you are looking for history, then you came to the right place. However I cannot allow just anyone in hear. I will need to receive permission from the Kazekage. If you are willing to wait, I will send someone to appeal for you."

"That would be grea- I mean, I would much appreciate it." The guard nodded his head in a certain direction and a ninja of notably higher status appeared in front of him. The ninja was wearing a black outfit with brown trim. He was undoubtedly an ANBU from the Sand Village. The guard explained the situation and the ninja disappeared.

"You can wait in that restaurant over there," said the guard as he pointed toward a building that smelled like fried crow and grilled cactus, "I will notify you when I have permission to let you in Mr. Gibuntaro." Naruto nodded and thanked the man, then headed toward the restaurant.

**Hidden Sand Village (Bar)**

After twenty minutes of chatting with the locals, Itachi figured that he would not get much information unless he broke the ice. So, he bought a round of the cheapest ale for everyone in the bar, including himself. After seeing that cheap ale wasn't going to sway their wariness of him, he bought more expensive beer for the people who he thought would have the most info.

Within the hour, Itachi was just barely sober. He could still keep his footing stable but he was swaying slightly. He walked up to a drunken man in the bar and asked him, "Hey, doo you knows about any jinchuurikis near heer?" The drunken man shrugged his shoulders, bent over and smacked his own head on the table. He had fallen asleep.

Itachi walked over to another man. He started up the same conversation as before. "Hey, sand village guy, do you know of anyone called a jinchuuriki?" Unfortunately, Itachi did not realize that this man had not been drinking at all except for that free glass of ale and was nowhere near as drunk as Itachi.

The man turned around and stood up. He was much taller than he looked and he had huge muscles. "Who are you to bring up that with a stranger?" Itachi realized his mistake and tried to apologize but was too late. The big man grabbed him by the cloak and lifted him off the ground. "I think you should be taught a lesson punk!" He pulled his fist back and prepared to hit Itachi in the face. Itachi thought, _*Well this isn't going well…*_

**Hidden Sand Village (Restaurant)**

A few minutes after entering the restaurant, Naruto's mouth was watering. He had never had grilled cactus before but it smelt so good. He was tapped on the shoulder and he turned around to see the guard from earlier with a smile on his face. "Excuse me Mr. Gibuntaro, I'm sorry for the wait, would you like something to eat before I let you into the archive room?"

Naruto couldn't believe the hospitality of this village. "Are you sure it's not a problem?" The guard grinned and said, "Of course! I was getting ready to have lunch myself anyway." Naruto accepted his offer and sat down with the guard. He noticed that the guard was quite a friendly person when not working.

After ordering, the guarded started asking him questions. "What are you looking to find in the archives Mr. Gibuntaro?" Naruto looked up and said politely, "Please, call me Noeme." The guard grinned and said, "Alright Noeme, what are you looking for?" Naruto saw no reason to lie but he didn't want to tell the whole truth.

"Well, I'm hoping to find information of the history of ninja in this village and how it differs from the history of the Hidden Leaf Village." The guard looked intrigued."That is an interesting choice of research. Tell me, how old are you? You don't look to be older than fifteen." Naruto shrugged and said, "Actually sir, I'm only twelve. I just graduated the academy in my village a couple weeks ago."

The guard looked baffled. "Wow, you are an excellent speaker for your age. You would make a great diplomat." Naruto and the guard talked for awhile over little things like food and the economy which Naruto barely understood. After they had eaten, the guard escorted Naruto to the archive room. The guard pointed in a direction and said, "That wall over there has the ninja training program records. I'm going to have to ask you to do your best not to damage them. The scrolls are quite old."

Naruto nodded and waited for the guard to leave. As soon as it was clear, he raided the shelves for a book that could have info on jinchuuriki. He found one that was fairly new and was titled Ninja of the Tailed-Beast. _*Wow, that's convenient.*_ Naruto thought as he opened it, and just as he found out who the jinchuuriki was, he heard a crash coming from outside.

**Hidden Sand Village (Bar)**

Itachi was on the ground outside the bar. The big man had hit him so hard that he had crashed through the wall. Itachi stumbled to his feet and looked at the man. "Well that wasn't very friendly of you. I was just trying to start a conversation." The big man spat at him and said, "There's nothing friendly about that topic."

Itachi started to think clearly again. _*This is bad, I'm in no condition to fight and he is strong.*_ The man walked towards Itachi and raised his foot into Itachi's chin. Itachi flew upwards and away from the man and landed hard on his elbow. Itachi was too drunk to position himself before landing and his shoulder had been dislocated.

"Itachi!" Naruto had just arrived and was watching helplessly. Itachi pretended not to know him to cover his identity. "Stay back kid, I'll be fine." The big man came up to Itachi and dropped his heel onto Itachi's back. Itachi gasped in pain. Naruto tried to get through the crowd but the guard from earlier stopped him.

"Hold it Noeme. I can't let you interfere. In the Hidden Sand, the bar fights are kept between the attacker and the defender. No outside source is to get involved." Naruto looked baffled at the guard. "That's stupid! How can you just stand by and watch as someone gets beaten?" The guard couldn't answer but continued to block Naruto's path.

The big man knelt down to see Itachi face to face. "Not so tough are ya? Punk!" A crowd had formed a circle around the scene. He stood up and kicked Itachi in the stomach. "We don't talk about jinchuuriki around here." A new deep voice said, "Who speaks of a jinchuuriki?" A smaller man appeared between Itachi and the big man and looked at Itachi. "Was it you?"

Itachi looked up and nodded. The smaller man kicked Itachi hard in the face. Itachi flew into the crowd and rolled a couple times on the ground. The crowd awkwardly maneuvered to make a new circle around the fight. The smaller man slowly walked over towards Itachi. "I am the Kazekage of this village, and I say that no one speaks of jinchuuriki!"

He raised his foot to kick Itachi again. As he swung it forward, a leg moved in the way and a kunai was at the Kazekage's throat. Naruto appeared between Itachi and the Kazekage. "Foolish kid," said the Kazekage, "do you really think you can stop me?" Naruto nodded and said, "I will do whatever it takes to protect my sensei.

The people in the crowd murmured and the guard was stunned. "Noeme, get out of the way before you get killed." Naruto refused to move and the Kazekage punched him in the gut. Naruto doubled over in pain and the Kazekage kicked him in the face, causing him to be lifted off the ground and thrown through the air. Naruto however, was not drunk and easily regained his footing. 

The Kazekage turned back towards Itachi and pulled out a sword. "The punishment for your crime is…Death." He brought the sword down on Itachi's back and just missed his spine. Itachi groaned in pain as the sword caused his numbness from alcohol to fade completely. Naruto shouted at the Kazekage. "Leave him alone!"

Naruto lunged at the Kazekage but was easily deflected as the man backhanded him. The Kazekage pulled his sword out and aimed at Itachi's head this time. "Time to die." Naruto became enraged and screamed, "NO!" Immediately, a shockwave shot from Naruto and knocked most people in the crowd over.

The Kazekage turned to look at Naruto and his eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. Naruto's body was leaking red chakra and the chakra began to encase his skin. Naruto shot at the Kazekage and punched him in the head hard enough to send him flying. By this time, Itachi had gotten over the pain by releasing a two pronged seal and stood up.

He formed a few hand signs and said, **"Three Pronged Seal Jutsu." **His first, middle, and ring finger glowed blue with chakra and he jumped over to Naruto and tapped his head. Naruto's eyes closed and he fell to the ground. Itachi picked him up and looked over to see the Kazekage still on the ground. He turned and jumped away towards the village gate.

**Itachi's Hideout near Tenchi Bridge**

Itachi placed Naruto on the ground and waited for Fujin to arrive. He started a fire and kept it going until Naruto woke up. "Uhg, where am I?" Naruto sat up and looked around. "Itachi-sensei, are you alright/" Itachi looked over at Naruto and grinned. "Yes, thanks to you Naruto." Naruto scratched his head and looked at the fire.

"How did we get here?" Itachi laughed. "Well, after you knocked the Kazekage flat on his ass, I knocked you out and carried you here." Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean?" Itachi was about to explain but Fujin came up to them. "So, do you have the information?" Naruto looked confused but then remembered. "Oh yeah, the jinchuuriki is a kid called Gaara."

Itachi looked at Naruto and Fujin nodded. "That is what I thought. Here is your payment." Fujin tossed a bag of money at Itachi. "I'll be on my way now." Naruto looked at Fujin as he walked away and disappeared into the night.

**Thanks for reading. Sorry again it took so long. I'm putting up a new poll and my readers have decided who Naruto will fight in the preliminary round.**


	11. Training IV: Chakra

**Hello readers. This is RadiantAura speaking. Sorry that it's taking me awhile to update my stories. I have a school project to do but I will update whenever I can. My brother has slacked on writing the Sasuke storyline so if he does not have a new chapter up soon, I will cut off his story. Please review.**

**Near Tenchi Bridge**

Naruto and Itachi were walking silently side by side. Neither of them had spoken much since Fujin left them. Naruto decided to break the silence by asking a question that had been on his mind since he had awoken. "Hey Itachi-sensei, what happened back in the village. I don't remember much."

Itachi blinked slowly and slowed his pace a bit. "You awakened the nine-tailed demon inside you, Naruto." Naruto's eyes widened slightly as many questions popped into his head. "The nine-tails, what do you mean Itachi-sensei?" They came up to the Tenchi Bridge and stood side by side overlooking the rail.

"Naruto, when the Kazekage was about to kill me, your inner rage allowed the beast to take over your actions." Naruto raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "In what way did it take over?" Itachi brought back up the memory of the previous battle and retold the events to Naruto…

_^^Naruto lunged at the Kazekage but was easily deflected as the man backhanded him. The Kazekage pulled his sword out and aimed at Itachi's head this time. "Time to die." Naruto became enraged and screamed, "NO!" Immediately, a shockwave shot from Naruto and knocked most people in the crowd over. _

_The Kazekage turned to look at Naruto and his eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. Naruto's body was leaking red chakra and the chakra began to encase his skin. Naruto shot at the Kazekage and punched him in the head hard enough to send him flying. By this time, Itachi had gotten over the pain by releasing a two pronged seal and stood up.^^_

Naruto tilted his head downwards and looked at the raging river beneath him. "So… did we win?" Naruto looked over when he heard a noise that he had never heard before. Itachi was laughing! Itachi was laughing for the first time. Naruto was confused. "What, what did I say?" Itachi calmed himself and chuckled as he replied, "You really are something Naruto." 

Itachi continued, "We didn't really win, but that punch of yours gave us plenty of time to get away." Naruto smiled and looked back down at the water. "Itachi…" Itachi looked over at his student, "Was that man really the Kazekage?" Itachi nodded his head.

Naruto sighed. "He was really strong. I don't think I could have beaten him without the nine-tails helping me." Itachi walked over to Naruto and slapped him on the back with his palm, hard enough to take his breath away. "No Naruto, you could not have beaten him. But, that is why it is my goal to have you take the chuunin exam. If you become a chuunin, I will be able to teach you much more and I will make you stronger."

Naruto cheered up a bit and then said with a somewhat irritated tone, "Well that's ok, but why did you have to hit me?" Itachi grinned again, but only briefly. "The power of the nine-tails is not something to desire. You should learn to despise it; fear it but overpower it."

Naruto started to worry. "How am I supposed to overpower it?" Itachi looked out into the distance in the direction the river was flowing. "You must learn to store more chakra, and to use it more efficiently." Itachi turned and started walking to the other side of the bridge.

"Come on Naruto. The sooner we get to the hideout, the sooner we can begin your seal training. After all, the only reason I was able to stop you was because I used a three pronged seal on you." Itachi smirked as he said the last part. "Really Itachi?" Naruto said as he ran to be at his side. Itachi smiled and said, "Yes, really."

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto walked into the kitchen and cooked himself some ramen while Itachi went to open the weapon room. He brought out Naruto's special scroll and laid it on the ground. Naruto walked over to Itachi while eating and examined his scroll. "What are you doing with my scroll Itachi?"

Itachi looked up and said, "We are going to begin your seal training. You need to get much better at it if you want to have an advantage in the chuunin exams." Naruto gasped. "Oh yea, I completely forgot about the chuunin exams! What are we waiting for? Let's start."

"Alright Naruto, you already know how to seal things away into a scroll, but you need to be more efficient." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "How can I be more efficient?" Itachi kneeled and unsealed Naruto's weapon scroll with one finger. "Whoa, how did you do that Itachi-sensei?" Itachi smirked and stood up to explain.

"When you learn to control your chakra, normal things that you do will start to take less and less of it. For example where it takes your whole hand to unseal this scroll, I only have to use one finger." Naruto shouted with amazement. "That's so cool!" Itachi smiled. "I'm glad to see that you think so. Now then, I want you to take a few shuriken scrolls and your personal weapon scroll, and seal them. Focus your chakra into your hand first. Try to use less and less chakra each time you seal and unseal the scrolls."

Naruto nodded and then walked over to the scrolls. He opened them one by one, using less chakra with each one. After his third time through the scrolls, Naruto found that he could not seal the last one. His chakra wasn't efficient enough. "Now is the time to really focus your chakra. If you can make it through the scrolls two more times after your limit, then we can move on to unsealing with a single finger," Itachi commented.

Naruto nodded to show Itachi that he understood and concentrated his chakra into his hand. Again, he failed to close the scroll. Naruto became slightly frustrated. _*How am I supposed to do this? I can't go past my limit. Ok, I just gotta focus a small amount of chakra-.* _Naruto closed his eyes and pooled chakra in his hand. He put his hand over the scroll and the scroll was sealed.

Naruto grinned as he looked up at Itachi. Itachi smiled back. "We just might get to the single finger sealing in one day." With that, Naruto became excited and continued to seal the scrolls. He used less and less chakra each time until he began to think that he was using no chakra at all.

After going through the scrolls two more times, Itachi stopped him. "Alright, now you have a choice. Do you want to try the single finger sealing right away, or do you want to take a break and start back up tomorrow?" Naruto thought about it, but it didn't take him long to answer. "Let's continue right now. I can do this."

Naruto stood up and stretched his arms, but as he tried to sit back down he lost consciousness. Itachi shook his head. _*Chakra exhaustion. Well, I guess it's better than another ordeal with the demon chakra getting lose.*_ Itachi grabbed a blanket and threw it onto Naruto. He then sealed all of the weapon scrolls and put them away for their training tomorrow.

**Uchiha Hideout (next day)**

Naruto awoke and was unsurprised to find that he was on the floor. He had succumbed to chakra exhaustion before, but he didn't remember feeling worn out this time. He shrugged off the thought and got something to eat. When he came back to the main room, he noticed that Itachi was also awake and was bringing out the scrolls from the previous day.

"I hope you're ready for round two Naruto. The exams start in a few months." Naruto looked at Itachi with shock. "Oh, right! The Chunnin Exams, I forgot about them. But I thought I had more time than that." Itachi grinned and continued to set out the scrolls. "Well you don't, and we have quite a few things to cover training-wise so we better get started."

Naruto nodded and walked over to the scrolls. "Focus your chakra into one finger. Use the same amount of chakra you used yesterday. You are going to have to put a bit of pressure into the chakra so that it comes out of your finger fast enough to seal the scroll. Once you get the hang of it you will have no problem duplicating it."

Naruto did as he was told and after a few tries, he managed to unseal one scroll. "Ha-ha! I got one!" Itachi grinned at Naruto's excitement and sat down in his obsidian chair. _*Naruto certainly has talent. I thought it would at least take him an hour to unseal his first one. Oh well, I've come to expect surprises from the fourth Hokage's son.* _Itachi continued to watch as Naruto unsealed and resealed the rest of the scrolls.

**Uchiha Hideout (1 hour later)**

Naruto was panting hard. This time he could feel the effect of using so much chakra. He decided to take a break and Itachi took this time to discuss something with Naruto. "Naruto, you should take the rest of the day off and spend time with your team." Naruto was dumbfounded at what Itachi had said.

"What?! I thought you said that we have to work a lot so I can be better prepared for the chuunin exams?" Itachi sighed and walked over to Naruto. "I did, but it is also important to make connections with your team. They will be working with you on most of your missions and you might have to fight against them in the exams."

Naruto thought about it and decided that Itachi's reasoning was well put. "Alright, I'll spend the day training with my team." Itachi nodded and said, "Good, training with them will be beneficial to you in many ways. Besides…" Itachi turned around and started to walk away. "You might make a connection with Hinata." Naruto blushed and looked away from Itachi. He then thanked Itachi and left the hideout.

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Naruto walked around the village casually. He was deciding on what to do. _*Should I try to find Hinata? Or should I try to find Shino? Shino is kind of creepy, but I don't want to come on to Hinata too strong…* _While Naruto was thinking, a pink-haired ninja came up to him. "Hey Naruto, I haven't seen you in awhile."

Naruto looked up to see Sakura. He grinned and said, "Yeah, I've been on a mission and training a bit." Sakura looked confused. "Mission? I heard that your team has been in the village all week." Naruto became nervous as he realized that his mission with Itachi was unofficial. "Oh yea, sorry. What I meant is that I was helping one of my friends with something and it felt like a mission."

Apparently Sakura bought the lie because she didn't press him any further. "Alright Naruto, I'll see you later." Sakura turned to walk away when Naruto stopped her. "Hey Sakura," she turned around, "do you know where Hinata is?"

Sakura brought her hand up to her chin and thought for a minute. "I think I saw her at the training grounds with Kurenai." Naruto nodded. "Ok, thanks Sakura." Naruto ran off to see Hinata while Sakura watched him leave. She thought to herself, _*I wonder why he is in such a hurry?*_ Sakura shrugged off the thought and went off to her business.

**Training Grounds**

Hinata and Kurenai were sparring. Naruto saw them and immediately hid among the trees. He muttered to himself, "I've never seen Hinata fight before. I wonder what she can do." Naruto watched as Hinata activated her clan's jutsu. **"Byakugan!" **The veins around her eyes became visible as she prepared for Kurenai's incoming barrage of kunai.

"**Rotation!" **Hinata spun around in place while emitting chakra from her palms. The chakra acted as a shield and deflected all of the kunai. "Well done Hinata," Kurenai said, "and you can come out now Naruto, it's not nice to spy on your teammates." Hinata blushed when she heard that Naruto was spying on her.

Naruto came out onto the field to try to defend himself. "Hold on, I wasn't spying. I just wanted to see what Hinata could do." Naruto realized that he didn't say that right and instantly Kurenai took it as a challenge. "Alright then Naruto, how about you spar with Hinata."

Hinata blushed again. Naruto knew that he had no choice and he stepped closer to Hinata. Hinata face became a deeper shade of red as Naruto had stepped a lot closer than either her or Kurenai had expected. Their faces were almost touching as Naruto said, "Are you ready?"

Before she could even open her mouth, Hinata had fainted from such close contact with Naruto. Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Does this mean that I win?" Kurenai giggled as she walked over to the unconscious Hinata. "Just give her a minute, and by the way, that was a cheap shot."

Naruto shrugged and waited for Hinata to come to. When she did, she blushed again when she saw that Naruto was sitting next to her with his eyes closed. Naruto sensed that she was awake and said, "You don't have to faint every time you know? I thought you might like it if I got that close." He opened one eye to see her and smiled.

Hinata sat up and shook her head. "I didn't say that I didn't like it, I just wasn't expecting it." Naruto smiled and stood up. "Are you ready to try again?" Hinata stood up and nodded her head. Kurenai moved to the sidelines as Naruto ran at Hinata. Hinata watched his moves and ducked under his punch. She then attempted to stab his underarm with her chakra enhanced fingertips but narrowly missed when he twisted his body out of the way.

Naruto then jumped back to put some distance between them. He formed a hand sign and said, **"Shadow Clone Jutsu." **Five clones appeared next to him and started to charge at Hinata one by one. Hinata activated her Byakugan once again and hit the clones with surgical precision, making each one disappear in a puff of smoke after just one hit.

Naruto then ran at her himself. He went low and tried to punch her in the gut but Hinata swiveled her body out of the way. She once again went for his left underarm but Naruto swung his arm out of the way and moved around to her back. He wrapped his arm around her neck and put just enough force into it to keep her from moving his arm.

"Do you give up Hinata?" Hinata shook her head and bit Naruto's arm. Naruto whimpered in slight pain and then looked up to see Hinata smack both of his arms. His arms went numb, and Naruto swept Hinata off of her feet. She tried to regain her balance but fell forward towards Naruto. Since Naruto's arms were paralyzed, he was unable to catch her. She fell on top of Naruto and they were face to face once again. Both of them blushed and Hinata fainted. Naruto could not get her off and she was unable to get herself off of him.

Kurenai laughed. "You two just can't stay away from each other can you?" She walked over and picked up Hinata. Naruto became a little sad for a reason he did not yet understand. Kurenai set Hinata down and leaned her against a tree. Naruto, still unable to move his arms, just laid there in silence and waited for his arms to get feeling back.

When Hinata woke up and Naruto was able to move again, they both thanked Kurenai-sensei and walked towards the village together. "Sorry I fainted on you." Said Hinata while blushing. Naruto shook his head. "That's ok Hinata. To tell you the truth…I kind of enjoyed it." Hinata blushed even more and they continued walking side by side.

When they arrived at the village they parted ways. Hinata walked to her clan's mansion while Naruto walked around aimlessly for an hour or two. Naruto went inside a weapon shop and ordered a special scroll. It was a blood scroll, which meant that only one specific person could open it. He took the scroll and walked to the hideout. Kurenai peered around the corner and thought to herself, _*What could he need a blood scroll for, and where is he going?"_

**That's it! I hope you all enjoyed chapter 11. I have a new poll out and I need to know how the readers think that Naruto should fight in the finals. Next chapter is the preliminary round. **


	12. Identity Revealed

**Hi guys. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I was taking a composition course in college to improve my writing. But now I'm back with lots of ideas on where to take this story. So let's get right to it!**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto dropped into the hideout quietly. But he saw that his stealth was wasted since Itachi was up and moving. "Ah, there you are Naruto." Itachi said. "I was beginning to worry that you were having too much fun with Hinata." Naruto blushed and Itachi smirked as he went into the kitchen.

"I had a lot of fun Itachi-sensei. I sparred with Hinata and it kind of ended in a draw." Itachi sighed. "You need to do better than that if you want to pass the chuunin exams Naruto." Naruto frowned. "I know…. I got the blood scroll you wanted."

Naruto tossed the scroll to him and Itachi caught it without looking. "Thank you Naruto, but this is yours." Naruto looked confused as Itachi tossed it back at him. "What am I supposed to do with it?" Itachi walked into the weapon room and brought out Naruto's weapons. Claw and Serra were Naruto's prized possessions. The hook sword, Claw, had helped him catch Itachi off-guard once. Serra, the serrated-edge sword, had not yet proved its use, but Naruto knew that it would in time.

"Naruto, anything sealed inside the blood scroll is sealed to the user. That means that no one will be able to open this scroll once you seal it." Naruto stared in amazement. "So you want me to seal my weapons in the scroll?" Itachi nodded. "Weapons are seen as ninja tools in the chuunin exams, which means that you can use them. However, since no one can open the blood scroll except you, they will not let you bring it into the exams. Now—"

Itachi flinched as he felt someone's presence at the entrance. "Naruto….were you followed?" Naruto looked confused. "I don't think so." Itachi motioned Naruto to step back. As Naruto did, he felt the vibration of the boulder being moved manually. "_Woah, there must be someone really strong out there."_ Naruto thought as he grabbed his swords.

Itachi activated his sharingan and waited for the intruder to jump down. He and Naruto waited for about ten minutes before a shadowy figure dropped into the hideout. Itachi looked at the figure with determination. "Kurenai, to what do we owe this visit?" Naruto's eyes widened as Kurenai stepped out of the shadows.

"Kurenai-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. Kurenai kept her eyes on Itachi and replied, "I wanted to know where you were going with that blood scroll." Kurenai stared at Itachi with fierce eyes. You are… Itachi Uchiha, rogue ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Shino walked around aimlessly through the markets. He never admitted that he was aimless, just that he was looking for something in particular and couldn't find it. After walking around a bit he decided to send one of his insects to look for Kurenai-sensei since he was bored and wanted to train.

Even though it was late and the sun was setting, Shino thought it would be best if he trained with Kurenai-sensei and Hinata so that he could get stronger for the chuunin exams. He wasn't very accepting of Naruto. He always thought something about him seemed off. He also noticed that Naruto never had a clear explination for his abilities.

As he walked toward the Hyuuga mansion he saw Hinata leaving. "Hinata, where are you off to?" Hinata looked over and waved to Shino. "Oh, hi Shino. I was on my way to get something to eat." Shino looked over her casually. "Would you mind training with me? I want to test my abilities against your rotation technique.

Hinata pushed her forefingers together. "Oh, well, I just got done training with Naruto and Kurenai-sensei an hour or two ago." Shino looked disappointed. "Oh, I was looking forward to training with you but I guess Kurenai-sensei will do." One of Shino's bugs landed on his finger. "What?!" Shino exclaimed. "You can't find Kurenai-sensei? Where was she last?"

Shino listened to the small bug for a second and then looked at Hinata. "Hinata come on, I think Kurenai-sensei is in trouble." Hinata looked worried. "What do you mean Shino?" Shino looked away and said, "My insects tell me that she is somewhere in the forest. They lost her scent at a hole in the ground and they think she might have fallen in." Hinata gasped and followed Shino out of the village.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi smirked. "Kurenai, you are not welcome here." Itachi readied a kunai and adjusted himself into a fighting stance. "And Naruto is not safe here.", said Kurenai as she pulled out a kunai as well. "Kurenai-sensei, he has been protecting me." Kurenai looked over at Naruto, stunned. "Protecting you? Why would he protect you? He's a rogue and a killer! He must be dealt with."

Naruto shook his head. "No, he is my sensei." Kurenai hesitated. "Your sensei? So HE is the one who taught you seal jutsu." Itachi remained in his stance but lost some tension. Naruto nodded. "Yes, he has been taking care of me and preparing me for the chuunin exams." Kurenai lowered her guard. "Why Itachi? Why would you do something as foolish as taking on an apprentice?"

Itachi lowered his guard as well, and stood up straight. He put his kunai away and walked over to Naruto. He put his hand on Naruto's head and looked at Kurenai. "Because it is my last mission as a member of the ANBU black ops, and I always carry out my mission." Kurenai looked disgusted. "You are no longer part of the ANBU Itachi. So what is the real reason?"

Itachi sighed. "I was asked to look after him and make sure he grows into a strong shinobi. I wasn't too excited at first, but Naruto has grown on me. In a way I see him as my own son now and I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe." Tears fell from Naruto's eyes as he realized what Itachi had just said. _"Itachi thinks of me as his son?_

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at Kurenai. "Kurenai-sensei, both of you are my sensei. I respect you both. So please, don't tell anyone about Itachi. I know I can't keep it a secret forever…but he still has a lot to teach me." Kurenai sighed and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, I can't just leave you here with him. Even if Itachi is telling the truth." Naruto frowned and looked at her with pleading eyes. After a few minutes, Kurenai shook her head. "Alright Naruto, I will keep it a secret. But know this, if Yugao has any suspicions and asks me about you two, I can't withhold information. You will only be safe for awhile."

She turned and looked at Itachi. "As for you Itachi, keep your word and make sure Naruto is safe. If you teach him jutsu and Naruto tells me," Kurenai glared at Naruto, "then I can show him how to use it in any situation." Itachi nodded, showing that he understood. "Thank you for understanding Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai nodded and turned around to leave. She jumped up out of the hideout and pushed the boulder back. As soon as she was done, Hinata and Shino came running down the path. Kurenai-sensei, are you all right?!" Shino asked. Kurenai sighed, then turned around and smiled. "Yes everything is fine." Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Shino calmed himself and looked at Kurenai-sensei. "Can you train with me sensei? I know it's late but I feel as though I'm much stronger in the dark." Kurenai nodded. "Sure Shino, after we walk Hinata home." Shino nodded in agreement as they all walked towards the village.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi sighed in relief. "I'm glad she took it so well, I wasn't up to fighting your sensei." Naruto nodded in agreement. "Now then Naruto, as I was saying. Since you cannot take the scroll in with you manually, you will need to learn the scroll teleportation technique." Naruto looked excited. "So I can summon the scroll to me wherever I am?"

Itachi nodded. "But first, you must make this scroll sealed to your chakra signature." Naruto nodded. "In order to do that, you must sign your name, in blood, on the scroll." Naruto opened the scroll and cut his thumb. He then wrote his full name on the scroll with his thumb. "Now all you have to do is seal it. Then unseal it and put your weapons in it."

Naruto did that also and resealed the blood scroll. He looked up at Itachi. "Now what are we going to do Itachi?" Itachi yawned. "Now, we sleep. I am exhausted and you won't be ready to learn the scroll teleportation until your chakra reserves are full." Naruto nodded and said goodnight. Then he crawled into bed and slept.

**Well, there you go. Chapter 12 is done and out of the way. Next time is the chunnin exam preliminaries. Once again sorry for it taking so long to get this chapter out. I worked on this non-stop and managed to get it done in an hour and a half. If I'm feeling up to it, I was planning on making a "movie" chapter. That is I was going to make a chapter 2-3x as long as normal. It will most likely be the final exam fight between Naruto and ?. Please review, thanks.**


	13. Preliminaries

**Alright guys it looks like I'm back into the story. Hope you guys are finally ready for the preliminaries. You will finally get to see Naruto prove himself. Also the preliminaries are mostly unimportant to me. So I will only show Naruto's fight with Sakura and Hinata's fight with Neji. And yes I am skipping the writing portion and the teamwork section. Let the challenge begin!**

**Uchiha Hideout (a few months later)**

Naruto awoke and went into the kitchen. He was extremely excited to learn the scroll teleportation technique. The preliminary exams were today and he really wanted to try out his weapons. Naruto waited in the main room and meditated while waiting for Itachi to wake up. After two hours Itachi still had not gotten out of bed. Naruto grew impatient and walked over to Itachi's door.

As soon as he went to knock on it, Itachi dropped into the hideout from outside. "What are you doing Naruto?" Naruto lowered his head. _"Of course he comes back when I'm doing something I shouldn't." _Naruto turned around and saw Itachi. He had changed clothes from his traditional black mesh shirt and pants and instead was wearing a red jacket and orange pants.

"What is with the weird colors?" Naruto asked. Itachi smirked. "Today is the day of the preliminary exams. I thought you would like to see bright colors to get you awake and motivated." Naruto eyed Itachi strangely and shrugged. "Well, I'm awake and ready to learn the scroll teleportation technique."

Itachi shook his head. "Sorry Naruto, we will have to save that for another time. I want you to have a full chakra reserve for the exams." Naruto was about to protest but stopped when Kurenai dropped into the hideout. "What are you doing here Kurenai-sensei?" Itachi turned around and looked irritated. "She was supposed to wait outside. This is my base you know?"

Kurenai shrugged it off. "I know but today I think you can make an exception." Naruto looked confused. "What's going on?" Itachi explained, "I thought it would be best if you had an escort to the exams, and Kurenai was delighted that I asked." Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Did you think I was going to run away or something?"

Itachi shook his head and hands. "No, no nothing like that. It's just that a lot of people know that you will be in the exams and…well, there might be an attempt on your life." Naruto's eyes grew big. "What do you mean?! I haven't done anything!" Itachi nodded. "I know, but word has spread of your…unusual talents, and some villages think that it would be unfair if you were to compete."

Kurenai stepped forward. "That's where I come in. My genjutsu is better than anyone's in the village and I can disguise you. Besides, what kind of sensei would I be if I did not make sure you were safe?" Kurenai grinned. Naruto shrugged and looked at Itachi. "What about my weapons?" Itachi frowned. "I'm sorry Naruto, I thought we would have time for it but it looks like you will have to do this without them."

Naruto sighed and walked over to Kurenai. Itachi spoke up, "Naruto, before you go I have something for you." Naruto turned around and caught some clothes. "What are these?" "Those," Itachi said, "are your new clothes. I thought you might like a change up from the orange." Naruto looked at Itachi with a cautious look and went into his room to change. When he came out he was clad in extremely light yellow-green clothing. His shirt was almost skin-tight half way down his arms yet allowed him to move freely, and his shorts, which were also skin-tight, came down to his knees.

"Ummm, Itachi-sensei?" Itachi turned. "I look ridiculous." Kurenai laughed. Itachi smirked and said, "They aren't permanent. Just use them for the chuunin exams. They will distinguish you from the other participants." Naruto sighed and walked back over to Kurenai. As he turned to leave Itachi said, "Good luck, Naruto." Naruto nodded and left with Kurenai.

**Outside Hidden Leaf Village (Forest)**

Naruto walked behind Kurenai along the road. "Sorry again for not telling you about Itachi, Kurenai-sensei." Kurenai shook her head. "It's ok Naruto, I understand. It was better that I found out the way that I did. It would have been hard to explain by yourself."

"Yeah…" Naruto said as he looked at his feet.

They walked along silently for awhile until Kurenai said something. "Naruto, about your weapons;" Naruto looked at her. "a hook blade and claw is a very odd combination for a novice swordsman. Have you learned to use them yet?" Naruto shook his head. "No, but I am hoping to train with them before the finals."

Kurenai decided to stay along the same subject. "How are you going to fight in the preliminaries?" Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, it all depends on who I fight I guess." Kurenai accepted that answer and as they came upon the gate they heard something. "What was that Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai shushed him and looked around. From behind them they heard someone shout, **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** They both turned around in time to dodge the fireball. Before Naruto could get to his feet, another fireball was on him. He rolled to the side and sprung to his feet. Naruto Formed a handsign but Kurenai stopped him. "No Naruto, I will handle this."

Kurenai faced the direction that the fireball came from and quickly formed four handsigns. **"Ninja Art: Tenfold Tree Illusion!" **Naruto saw that nothing happened but he obeyed Kurenai and stayed in place. The ninja shot more fireballs but his aim was off…terribly. His fireballs never landed within five feet of either Naruto or Kurenai.

"I know you are there Naruto!" Naruto's eyes widened as he heard a familiar voice. _"Sasuke is attacking me?"_ Naruto couldn't believe it. Another fireball was shot. This one was heading straight for Naruto. "Naruto move!" Naruto did as he was told and barely dodged the fireball. Kurenai landed in front of him with Sasuke in her grasp. Naruto looked at him. "What the hell Sasuke!?"Kurenai shook her head. "Calm down Naruto, this isn't Sasuke."

"What do you mean Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai looked at Naruto. "I mean this is an imposter. Do you know how to undo genjutsu Naruto?" Naruto nodded and made the handsign. **"Release." **The man caught in Kurenai's grip started to change form. His hair grew out and brightened. His face grew longer and a scar on his right cheek appeared.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked. The man squirmed to try to get out of Kurenai's grip but she held on tight. Finally he gave up and slowly replied. "My name is Yamura. I was planning on taking you out so I could compete in the chuunin exams in your place." Naruto looked confused. Kurenai asked, "That's impossible, your skills give you away as a chuunin already."

The man nodded. "Yes, but I did not want to compete to go up in rank. My purpose was to dispose of the kid called Gaara." Naruto looked confused. "Gaara? Who's Gaara?" Before he could answer, Naruto remembered. _*Gaara is the jinchuuriki of the Hidden Sand!*_ The man looked at Naruto with a creepy face and replied, "Gaara is a ninja from the village hidden in the sand. He is a threat to the peace of the Hidden Sand Village and it was my job to take him out."

Kurenai held a kunai to his throat. "Who put you up to this?" Before he could answer his body faded away into sand which caught both Naruto and Kurenai by surprise. "He only wanted to kill Gaara. Why did he have to kill me in the process?" Kurenai shook her head. "I don't know, but now your cover is blown. It doesn't matter though. I can see the village gate."

**Hidden Leaf Village (Front Gate)**

When they arrived at the gate they were greeted by Shino and Hinata. "Naruto," said Hinata, "why were you in the forest?" Naruto sighed and scratched his head. "Well, um, you see I was, uh—," Kurenai interrupted. "He was training against wild animals. I told him he was crazy but he didn't listen."

Hinata ran up and hugged Naruto, which surprised everyone. "Naruto, you should be more careful." Naruto blushed and Kurenai laughed. After Hinata finally let go of Naruto they all walked to the large building where the preliminaries were being held.

**Exam Building**

Many people were already inside including Guy's team, Asuma's team, and even Kakashi's team, including Sasuke. Many other people were there including a sound village team with weird looking people covered in bandages. There was also a team from the Hidden Sand Village. Naruto tried to guess which one was Gaara but couldn't see well from where he was standing.

As Kurenai's team reached the balcony overlooking the arena, they greeted team Kakashi. Naruto eyed Sasuke and stopped when he came up to him. "Hey Sasuke. You look…different." Sasuke turned his head away and replied, "Shut up you snot dripping." That made Naruto angry since Itachi picked his outfit, but Hinata grabbed his arm and pulled him away before he made a scene.

Team Kurenai walked to the middle of the balcony and looked over the railing. Below them was the proctor who would decide the winner of each fight. He was a little sick as he was coughing every three minutes. Naruto looked around. He wondered who he would fight. The proctor addressed the competitors, "Alright everyone, in a minute the board above me will show who will be fighting in our first match, but first, I want you all to know the rules. You will fight until one of the combatants in unable to participate or forfeits. All ninja tools are acceptable as long as they were checked beforehand. If any ninja above genin rank interrupts the fight except me, then the genin that is being defended is disqualified. If another genin tries to interrupt the fight by participating, they too will be disqualified."

Naruto nodded and looked up at the board. The two slots for the ninja names were scrolling through the names extremely fast and stopped suddenly on the first two genin. The proctor announced, "Alright then, would Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame please step forward." Shino dissolved into bugs and reappeared on the floor below. Sasuke jumped over the railing and landed across from Shino.

The proctor gave the signal to begin and immediately thousands of bugs flew out from Shino's coat. **"Insect Cloud Jutsu." **Everyone's vision was blocked from Sasuke and Shino. Naruto understood. _"Shino wants to have a complete advantage by keeping his fighting style a secret."_ The cloud lingered on for about five minutes and a lot of metal sounds could be heard. A little while later the cloud of insects dissipated. Shino was lying on the floor and Sasuke looked mostly untouched. "What happened?" Said Naruto. No one knew what to say. The proctor declared Sasuke as the winner and then Sasuke left with a new girl who was standing by Sakura.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. _"Sasuke has gotten stronger than last time."_ The proctor looked up at the board and called out the next two names. "Neji Hyuuga and Hinata Hyuuga." Hinata gulped but after a few reassuring words from Kurenai she jumped down below. "Neji jumped down and looked at her. "You should just give up now." Hinata gasped. "Why?"

Neji closed his eyes and stated quite confidently, "I am already destined to beat everyone I fight in the exams, you cannot win." Hinata shook her head and said, "No, you can't." Naruto barked, "Don't listen to him Hinata! I believe in you!" Hinata nodded and lowered into her stance. Neji did the same and they both activated their Byakugan.

xXxXxXxXx Into the Storm by Blind Guardian xXxXxXxXx

The proctor gave the signal and Hinata charged first. She stuck at him low but Neji dodged. He struck at her left arm but she also turned her body out of the way. At the same time they both spun and said, **"Rotation"**. Spheres of blue formed around each of them and they both were flung back. Both had a few scratches and Hinata was panting. She glanced at Naruto and looked for encouragement. "Come on Hinata, you can beat him!" Hinata nodded in agreement. She took her time and waited for Neji to strike first. He ran at her and they exchanged blows. Each time they struck each other, a small blast of chakra was emitted from their hands. It sounded like mini explosions. After about 100 clashes of chakra, both Hinata and Neji were panting. Neji knew that there was only one thing to do. He closed his eyes and when they opened Hinata became frightened. His Byakugan had increased in strength and she knew what would come next. She knew what she had to do. "I give up." Neji hesitated. "What, you can't Hinata!" Naruto said as he was almost over the railing. Hinata turned around and looked at him. "It's okay Naruto. If I let Neji hit me with that then I might as well be dead." Naruto was trembling. _"She can't just give up like that."_ Hinata looked at him with kind eyes. "Naruto, if you fight him, then beat him for me ok?" Naruto nodded and the proctor raised his hand. "Neji Hyuuga is the winner by forfeit."

xXxXxXxXx End song xXxXxXxXx

Both Hinata and Neji went back to their places in their teams. Naruto glared at Neji and then turned to check Hinata's wounds. "You sure are protective of her Naruto," said Kurenai. Naruto blushed. "I'm, it's just that…" Naruto was lost with words. "He just wants to make sure I'm ok." Kurenai accepted that but giggled as she turned to look at the proctor.

The proctor looked at the board and called forward the next two genin. "Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto felt Sakura flinch as her name was called. Kurenai looked over at Naruto. "Naruto, I know that you can beat her easily, but go easy on her. We don't need to lose any genin." Naruto nodded and jumped, performing several back flips on his way down. Sakura took the stairs and was looking pretty fragile.

"You can do it Sakura," said Kiba her teammate. "He doesn't look that tough." Sakura nodded but still looked nervous. The proctor looked at both of them and then looked up at the balcony. There was an unfamiliar ninja next to team Guy's genin. He was tall and wearing a long black coat. It was open in the front and he could see red and orange clothing. His face was also covered. He dismissed it for now and gave the signal for the battle to start.

xXxXxXxXx Down With the Sickness by Disturbed xXxXxXxXx

Naruto ran at Sakura. He raised his fist and swung at her face, but slowed his fist just enough for her to dodge. She moved out of the way and even though he was slower than normal, everyone was amazed at his speed. He swept her legs and she landed on her butt. She quickly regained confidence and dodged away from Naruto's next kick. She was ready to fight now. She charged and Naruto and punched him square in the nose. Naruto made himself fly back several feet before landing. "Come on Naruto you can do better than that!" Hinata screamed as Naruto got up. _"I know, but I need to make a show."_ Naruto looked at Sakura. She was stronger than he gave her credit. But it was nothing and he charged at her. She tried to punch him in the gut but he jumped high above her. He made a few handsigns and chakra surrounded his first finger. He used gravity to pull himself towards her at an alarming rate. He held out one finger and said, **"Single Pronged Seal." **He touched her head and several things happened at once. Sakura flew backwards instead of down even though Naruto hit her from directly above. Also, Naruto landed as though he was as light as a feather. Everyone was staring in disbelief. Even the proctor's jaw dropped as he thought, _"That kid can use fuuinjutsu?!"_ Naruto pretended to dust himself off even though he wasn't dirty. Sakura groaned as she tried to stand. She felt completely drained. _"What was that?"_ As she stood up her legs wobbled, but she managed to stay standing. She tried to move towards Naruto but her legs gave out as she fell to the ground. She was unconscious.

xXxXxXxXx Song End xXxXxXxXx

Naruto looked back at Hinata and gave her thumbs up. She smiled and returned the gesture. After the proctor declared him the winner, Naruto turned back to Sakura and touched her head with one finger. **"Reverse: Single Pronged Seal."** The seal on her head shattered and she regained consciousness.

Naruto helped her up and then jumped back to his place next to Hinata. She hugged him tightly and muttered a "thank goodness" and then released him. A couple more fights took place. A fan girl Temari beat Ten-ten from Guy's squad. Lee was beaten by the man with the gourd called Gaara. Lastly, Kiba defeated the other sand guy called Kankuro.

As they were all getting ready to leave the proctor called out, "You there, the one in the long black jacket." The man turned around to face him. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The man turned to Naruto and looked at him. This gave Naruto a chance to see who he was. _"Itachi-sensei?!"_ Itachi then turned back to the proctor. "I was simply watching the matches."

The proctor shook his head and was wary. "I don't believe you; show us your face." Itachi took a step back but his way was blocked by Guy. Itachi looked around for an escape but knew that there was a better option. He jumped down to the areana, losing his cloak in the process.

Everyone except Kurenai and Naruto gasped. Itachi looked at the proctor and said, "If you must know, I am Itachi Uchiha. I was simply here to evaluate how well my student fought." The proctor was more than shocked and even more nervous. Cautiously he asked, "And who is your student?" Itachi turned to Naruto. Naruto looked frightened.

Itachi shook his head. "I am merely here as a condition of the exams. All sensei's of each student must be present. I have trained Naruto." At that moment every eye turned to Naruto.

**Awww too bad guys. You are going to have to wait until the next chapter to find out what happens. I know I'm evil but I am truly surprised that I got back up to 3000 words. I hope you guys review!**


	14. Grounded

**Hi everyone. Sorry for the cliffhanger last time, but a good cliffhanger means a good follow up. Hope you are all ready to see what happens.**

**Exam Building**

Everyone was staring at Naruto. He had never had this much attention before. All eyes were on him as he stood there motionless. "Naruto, come. It's time for us to go." Itachi said as he turned around. "Hold it!" said the proctor. Itachi stopped. He turned around and saw that all of the jounin had surrounded Naruto.

Kakashi spoke first. "Itachi Uchiha, we will not allow you to take Naruto." Guy nodded in agreement and added, "You are still a rogue ninja and we will not allow you to taint him any further." Kurenai stepped forward now. "We will stop you."

Naruto looked at Kurenai in disbelief. She looked back at him and looked sad. She whispered, "Sorry Naruto, but I can't blow my cover just yet." Naruto looked down at his feet, then back at Itachi. Itachi raised his eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but Naruto is my student. He has the choice to come with me if he wants."

For the first time Naruto looked at Hinata. She had a scared look on her face. He stepped toward her, but she backed away. Naruto looked down once again. The proctor jumped in front of Kakashi and faced Itachi. "He will not go with you." Itachi shook his head and looked at Naruto. "Are you coming?"

Naruto nodded then looked at Hinata once more. "Itachi has been like a father to me… I cannot just turn my back on him." Hinata eased up and looked at him with caring eyes. She walked up to him and whispered, "When you can, come find me." Naruto nodded and started walking towards Itachi.

Guy turned around and held Naruto by his shoulders. "Naruto, you do not know what you're getting into." Naruto smirked and said, "I'm already in it." Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. Guy was stunned. "When did he make a clone?" Someone replied from behind him. "I did it while you were all preoccupied with my sensei." Guy turned around and saw Naruto standing next to Itachi.

The air grew tense as they all waited to see if anyone was going to make a move. Itachi turned around and started walking. Before he even took three steps Kakashi appeared in front of him, blocking his path. "You aren't going anywhere Itachi." Kakashi brought out a kunai and prepared for a fight. Itachi sighed.

Kakashi's eyes grew big as Itachi stared into them. Kakashi had made a huge mistake and fallen right into his genjutsu.

**Tsukuyomi Realm**

Kakashi looked around and saw a vast grey landscape. He had no idea where he was and looked up to see hundreds of crows circling him. He looked forward again and saw Itachi. "I should kill you right now Kakashi." Kakashi hesitated and looked for his kunai, it was gone. "But I'm not that kind of person anymore. For Naruto's sake I won't hurt you, but you must move."

Kakashi stared at him intently and didn't answer. Itachi shook his head and walked towards him. Kakashi found himself unable to move and as he looked down he saw that black chains were coming out of the ground and coiled themselves around him. "Kakashi, you know that I can kill you. So why are you so intent on keeping me and Naruto from leaving?"

Kakashi tried to struggle but it was no use. "You have corrupted Naruto and I will stop you from tainting his mind." Itachi looked confused. "Corrupting? Tainting? I have merely trained him. And as you saw, he is quite powerful." Itachi walked around Kakashi a few times. "Have you seen any evil in him? Has he killed anyone? Hell, he was even gentler with Sakura than I thought."

Kakashi shook his head in disbelief. "How do I know you haven't trained him to keep his cover?" Itachi chuckled. "Foolish Kakashi. What could I possibly need Naruto for?" Kakashi quickly replied, "He has the Kyuubi inside him."

Itachi laughed harder. "What would I want with that? World domination? Honestly Kakashi I thought you were smarter than that. With all that time as my partner in the ANBU I would think that you would know me." Kakashi replied, "We were taught to hide our emotions, I didn't learn much about you."

Itachi shrugged. "We should get to know each other better than. How about this, you let me and Naruto leave today and we will catch up some other time?" "Not going to happen Itachi." Itachi sighed. "Fine, but I warn you Kakashi, I'm not as heartless as you think. I have my reasons for training Naruto." Itachi turned his head away.

**Exam Building**

Kakashi snapped out of Itachi's genjutsu and readied his kunai. Itachi looked at Naruto. "Naruto, we have two choices." Naruto looked up at Itachi. "I know, we can either surrender or fight our way out." Itachi chuckled. "Surrender is not an option. I meant we can fight or run." Naruto sighed. "Alright, I think we should—"

"Who said you get a choice?" Said the proctor as he also readied a kunai. Naruto became annoyed from getting cut off. Itachi came up with a new plan. "How about this, I leave you here and you come find me when things settle down?" Naruto nodded. "Alright Itachi-sensei. See you later." Before anyone could react, Itachi had vanished using the trademarked leaf teleportation of the ANBU.

Naruto looked around at everyone who was still looking at him. _*Damn, now what the hell am I supposed to do?*_ He sighed and walked over to his team, excluding Shino who was still in the care of the medic nins. "Kurenai-sensei, what now?" Kurenai hesitated as the air was still thick with mistrust and shock. "We have to make sure Itachi has not done anything to you." She looked at Guy and Kakashi. "I suggest a full check-up along with a seal scan to make sure he has not been controlling you"

Kakashi nodded and Guy walked over to Naruto. "Come with me Naruto." Naruto started walking behind him and turned around to look at Hinata. He stopped abruptly and walked back to her. "Naruto what are you—"Guy stopped as Naruto whispered something to her. She blushed and almost fainted as Naruto turned around to fall back in line with Guy.

When they were gone, Kurenai turned to Hinata. "What was that all about?" Hinata blushed. "Naruto said he was looking forward to our…date." Kurenai looked at her suspiciously. "You have a date with Naruto?" Hinata blushed even more now as she almost fainted again. "I guess I do."

**Hidden Leaf Village (Outside of Hospital)**

After being examined for two hours for seals, Naruto was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He wandered around and tried to decide what to do. _*I could go see Hinata now, or I could go to Itachi for some more training.*_ Naruto walked around the village some more and passed a few unfamiliar faces. He paid no attention to them and decided that Hinata could wait a little longer so he headed towards their base.

When he got to the gate he was stopped by the guards. "Hold it Naruto." Naruto looked confused and gazed over at them. "We aren't allowed to let you leave. New orders, sorry." Naruto sighed and turned around. He didn't really want to go to the Hokage's office, but he had to solve this problem somehow so he started walking in that direction.

**Hokage's Mansion**

"That's ridiculous! You can't just let him roam free!" Naruto heard someone screaming in the Hokage's office and decided to wait until they were done. He heard a female voice say, "No! Itachi must be hunted down! We cannot lose this opportunity!" He then heard the Hokage reply, "I'm sorry, but we cannot spare any ninja to dispose of Itachi Uchiha. Orochimaru is planning his attack and we need all available ninja ready for it."

Naruto saw a woman with long purple hair storm out of the office and then walked in himself. "Ah, Naruto, I was expecting you," said the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, "what can I do for you?" Naruto became slightly irritated that Hiruzen did not know what happened. "Why can't I leave the village?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "I'm sorry Naruto, but because of Itachi's appearance you need to wait for things to settle down."

Naruto became slightly impatient. "But sir, Itachi is my sensei and I need to train." Hiruzen laughed. "Well Naruto, don't forget that Kurenai is also your sensei. She can teach you just as much as Itachi can." Naruto sighed because he knew that he had lost this battle. As he turned around to leave the Hokage said something. "Naruto, the ANBU might move without my permission and hunt down Itachi. I cannot stop that. But you must trust that I have told them to leave it alone." Naruto nodded and left the Hokage's office.

**Hyuuga Mansion**

Hinata sat silently in her room and thought about the events that occurred today. _*I can't believe that Naruto was training with the rogue ninja Itachi. No wonder he is so strong. I bet he could do more than just beat Neji, he could kill him.* _Hinata shivered at the thought of Naruto killing and walked over to her window. After looking outside for a few minutes, she turned back and sat on her bed again.

_*I wonder if he will come see me.*_ Hinata blushed. _*Well he did say that we had a date.*_ "Hinata, it's time for dinner." Hinata looked up and saw her father in the doorway. "Ok father, I'll be down in a minute." After he left, she looked out the window once more and thought to herself, _*I really shouldn't be so excited for our date. He could be dangerous for all I know.*_

Hinata laughed at herself. "What am I saying? He's a great guy!" Hinata covered her mouth when she realized that she spoke out loud and before her father could come upstairs, she left her room.

**Hyuuga Mansion (2 hours later)**

Hinata sat in her room and started to get frustrated. _*When is he going to show up? Will it even be today? Or tomorrow? Or next week?*_ Hinata sighed and stopped arguing with herself and walked over to her bedroom window. She was shocked when she saw that Naruto was pacing in front of the gate to her house.

_*Oh no, what do I do?*_ For some reason Hinata had become scared all of a sudden. Before she could think of anything she heard her name being called. "Hey, Hinata!" She looked down and saw Naruto waving at her. She waved back and before she could blink Naruto had jumped up to her window and was casually hanging onto the roof.

Hinata was speechless. Naruto smiled and talked first. "This isn't the best place for us to talk. Can you meet me in the park?" Hinata quickly nodded and grabbed a jacket. "Don't run, it will draw to much attention." Hinata stopped for a moment, then started walking normally. Naruto dropped down and waited for her to come outside.

When she finally got past her father she met Naruto a block away. They walked silently for a few blocks and then Naruto broke the silence. "Hinata, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner." Hinata shook her head. "It's ok Naruto. I know that you didn't mean harm by it. How long has Itachi been training you?"

Naruto sighed. "I've been living with him since I was young. He took me in the night that he killed the Uchiha clan." Hinata's eyes widened. "Why would he take you in that night? Why not later?" "Because," Naruto explained, "he had to leave the village that night before everyone found out. The third Hokage assigned him his last mission that night."

Hinata wondered. "What was his mission Naruto?" They continued walking for awhile before Naruto answered. "He was assigned to take care of me. To train me so I could become a strong ninja." Hinata looked confused. "Why would the third Hokage do that?" Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't asked."

They walked along silently until they reached the park. When they looked at each other, Hinata saw that Naruto had tears in his eyes. "Naruto, what's wrong?" Naruto wiped the tears away and looked down. "I've never felt this way about anyone Hinata. I like you, a lot." Hinata blushed and looked away.

"But I'm not sure that you will be safe if we are together just yet." Hinata nodded in agreement. "There are two groups hunting down Itachi-sensei. One is the Leaf Village's ANBU unit." Hinata didn't look surprised. "The other is the Akatsuki." Hinata looked up at him. "What's that?"

"It's a small group of highly ranked criminals. Awhile ago they tried to recruit Itachi-sensei, but he refused." Hinata frowned. "How would either of those affect us?" Naruto looked at her and smirked. "Because when they get to him, I'll be at his side no matter what. And I can't let you get hurt as a result of me. The ANBU will kill anyone they think is a threat, including you if you try to help in any way. The Akatsuki don't care who they take down, if it's convenient then they will kill."

Hinata started to cry, but then her eyes grew wide as Naruto hugged her. "You mean a lot to me Hinata." Naruto pulled away but still held her shoulders. "Itachi-sensei will probably leave after the chuunin exams. He hasn't said if I'm going with him or not." Hinata's eyes were still filled with tears.

Naruto smiled. "Don't worry. I'm still your teammate and friend. You will see me on missions. Heck, there might be sometimes that we—" Naruto stopped as Hinata slapped him. "Why did you drag me out here to tell me all of that?" Naruto frowned. "Because you deserve to know." Hinata couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and hugged him as tight as she could.

After she stopped crying, Naruto walked her home. When they got to her door, she turned around and did something unexpected. She kissed him on the cheek. Naruto was stunned as she whispered to him. "Don't do anything you will regret." She turned around and walked inside.

**Alright guys that's all for this chapter. Sorry for making it a little short, I'll make it up to you. Hope you liked the change up from action to drama. Don't worry, the action comes back next chapter. Chuunin exams here we come!**


	15. Naruto: The Exams Part 1

**Hey all. Guess what, this is my "movie" chapter. That's right; this chapter is going to contain a lot of fights, training and drama. Also the chuunin exams are here. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Hyuuga Mansion (front door)**

Naruto watched as Hinata turned around to walk inside. Once she was, he stopped holding his breath and was gasping for air. He was breathing deeply and for a few seconds he just stood there, unable to move. He had no idea that he felt this strongly for her. _*I will be careful, for her.*_

He turned around and started walking towards the village gate. Once he got there he noticed that the two guards from earlier were still there, and more than likely were not going to let him pass. But he tried anyway. "Hey, Naruto. You heard me last time." One guard said to him. "You are not allowed to leave the village." Naruto groaned and turned around to go the other way.

It was already late and he had nowhere to sleep. He wandered aimlessly for about half an hour. By now he was so tired that e could hardly stand. "Well, I guess I can sleep outside tonight." Right as he was about to sit down, he saw Shino heading his way. He looked up and caught Shino's eye.

"Oh, hey Shino. What are you up to?" Shino turned to look at Naruto. "I'm just taking a midnight stroll like I always do." Naruto looked confused. "It's midnight already?" Shino nodded and looked Naruto over. "What are you doing out so late?" Naruto sighed. "Well, I was living with Itachi-sensei. So now that the guards won't let me leave, I can't go home."

Shino thought for a minute before deciding what he was going to say. "Naruto," Naruto looked at him curiously, "why don't you come with me?" Naruto was still confused, but he shrugged his shoulders and followed Shino. They walked around for another half hour and Naruto was about to collapse when Shino stopped.

"This is it." Naruto looked up past Shino and noticed that they were standing in front of a house. "What do you mean Shino?" Shino sighed. "This is my house Naruto. You can stay here for the night." Naruto's eyes widened with disbelief. "Really Shino? You are the coolest!" Shino laughed and turned to face Naruto.

"There is one condition though." Naruto smiled and said, "Yeah, what is it?" Shino replied, "You have to train with me in the morning. I've wanted to test my abilities against you for some time. Even though I'm out of the finals, I still want to test my strength and to see how well my teammate will do."

Naruto now looked at Shino from a different point of view. _*He wants to test his strength, even though he can't compete.*_ Naruto admired that about Shino. "Alright, I'll train with you in the morning." Shino nodded and led Naruto into his house. Naruto followed him to a spare room and as soon as he fell on the bed, he fell asleep.

**Shino's House (next day)**

Apparently most of the people in Shino's family were morning people because by the time Naruto awoke, they were all gone. Naruto yawned and got out of bed. As he was heading for the door, it opened and he saw Shino. "Ah, you're finally awake Naruto." Naruto yawned again. "What time is it?" Shino shrugged. "Time for us to train."

Naruto groaned and followed Shino to his backyard which unsurprisingly was full of trees. Naruto looked around and then saw Shino ready himself. Naruto was not yet fully awake but he was ready to train. Shino charged at Naruto. Naruto braced himself for the impact, but just before he was hit, he saw Shino disappear into a cloud of bugs. Naruto tried swatting them away but he was quickly getting tired.

Naruto just then remembered that Shino's bugs consumed chakra and immediately, Naruto was wide awake and jumped back a couple feet, out of the swarm. The swarm of insects transformed into Shino. "Are you awake now?" Naruto nodded and then formed a handsign. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Five clones appeared next to Naruto.

Naruto stood back while his cloned charged at Shino. One by one Shino easily dispatched the clones. He then ran at the real Naruto. Naruto ran at Shino, but at the last moment he jumped high in the air. Shino thought, _*That's not going to work on me.*_ Naruto formed a couple handsigns and touched his own forehead with two fingers. **"Two Pronged Seal: Release!" **

Shino ignored him and his body transformed into another swarm of insects. Naruto was still in the air and formed another handsign. **"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** This time, thirty Naruto clones were made and were all in the air. Each Naruto fell at a different speed and collided with the swarm of insects.

The swarm flew up, destroying every clone it touched. It then turned back into Shino and he punched the real Naruto. Naruto fell and hit the ground hard. "Geez Shino, how did Sasuke beat you? I can't even touch you." Shino shrugged. "Truthfully, my bugs don't take lightning chakra very well."

Naruto looked confused. "Lightning chakra? I thought Sasuke used fire." They both stopped and looked at each other. Shino nodded. "He does, but somewhere along the way he learned to use lightning. If you fight him Naruto, you must be careful." Naruto nodded and then charged at Shino.

Shino shook his head and transformed into a swarm of bugs again. Naruto smirked and threw a kunai at the swarm. When it was in the middle of it, Naruto formed a handsign and the kunai exploded. When the smoke cleared he saw half of the insects dead on the ground.

Naruto sighed in relief. "Alright Shino, I think I'm done for now." Shino transformed back into himself and nodded. "Thank you for helping me Naruto." Naruto nodded and left Shino's house.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi was pacing back and forth in the main hall. _*They must be keeping Naruto in the village. In that case I will go to him.*_ Itachi grabbed Naruto's weapon scroll and headed for the entrance of his hideout. When he jumped out, he made sure that the boulder was securely on top of the entrance and then headed for the Hidden Leaf Village.

He walked through the forest as was careful as always to stay off the main path. Since his disguise was already seen through, he decided to make a new one. **"Transformation Jutsu." **Itachi transformed into an old man and continued walking while faking a limp. When he got to the gate, the guards let him pass without any concern. _*They must be more lenient now. Something must be going on*_

Itachi walked on and found himself in the park. There he waited for about an hour before he saw Naruto. Slowly, he walked up to Naruto and smiled. "Good to see you Naruto." Naruto looked confused. "Ummm, do I know you?" Itachi laughed like an old man. "Of course you do Naruto." Itachi leaned in and whispered, "It's Itachi."

Naruto looked at him carefully. "Itachi-sensei?" The old man nodded. "I brought something for you." Itachi held out the blood scroll with Naruto's weapons. "Thank you Itachi-sensei. Nice disguise." The old man shrugged. "I had to give you your weapons somehow since they are keeping you in the village." Naruto frowned.

"Naruto, we need to meet up to train soon. You only have about a month to get ready for the chuunin exams and you need to learn the scroll teleportation jutsu." Naruto nodded. "I know, I trained with Shino this morning and he said that Sasuke has lightning jutsu." The old man looked shocked. "Hmmm, so he finally discovered his secondary nature."

Itachi looked up at Naruto. "Don't worry Naruto. We will find your nature as soon as the chuunin exams are over. But for now you need to focus on your weapons." Naruto nodded. "I can see if Kurenai-sensei can teach me how to use them." Itachi nodded in agreement. "Go now Naruto. I will see you again before the exams." Naruto thanked Itachi once more and then Itachi left and headed out of the village.

**Hyuuga Mansion (a few days later)**

Hinata woke up around 10am. She stretched her arms and rubber her eyes. _* I wonder what Naruto is up to. I hope I get to see him today.* _Before her mind wandered to far, her cousin Neji knocked on the door. "Come on Hinata. It's time to train." Hinata sighed and hopped out of bed. She quickly changed her clothes and left her room.

When she finally descended the steps she found Neji standing there, impatient as ever. "It's about time. Let's go." Neji turned around and opened the sliding door that led to the backyard. Hinata became irritated and thought, _*I hope Naruto beats you Neji. You deserve to be beaten.*_ Hinata just realized what she thought and almost slapped herself. _*Where the hell did that come from?*_

When Hinata walked into the backyard, Neji was waiting as patiently as he could. "Ready Hinata?" She nodded and they both lowered into their clan's signature stance. **"Byakugan." **They ran at each other and exchanged ten blows before they both backed off. Neji was disappointed that she was matching him on strength. He decided to raise his Byakugan to a higher level.

Hinata grew angry again. "Do you really need to raise your Byakugan to that level to beat me?" "Of course not!" Neji spat back as his Byakugan returned to normal. He ran at her with anger and they exchanged more blows. They repeated this process that they called training until they were both worn out.

"I'm going out." Hinata said while trying to steady her breathing. "Going out where?" Neji asked. "Just out." Hinata replied impatiently. Neji grew frustrated. "I said where." Hinata crossed her arms. "Wherever I want, I don't have to tell you." Neji clenched his fists but didn't move as he saw her walk away. _*Damn her. I'll smack that disobedient attitude out of her once I win the chuunin exams.*_

**Hidden Leaf Village (park)**

Naruto leaned against a tree as he thought about the next month. _*I need to train with Kurenai-sensei. The training with Shino helped some, but I need to learn to use these swords.*_ He looked around the park at the unfamiliar people. He then turned his attention to the Hyuuga Mansion. _*I would really like to hang out with Hinata too.*_

By some stroke of luck, he saw Hinata open the front door and close it behind her. _*It must be my lucky day.*_ He kept his head turned that way hoping she would see him. She brought her eyes up and was immediately drawn to him. _*Yes, she sees me.*_ She started walking towards him.

As he stopped leaning on the tree, he felt that his legs were asleep. But instead of waiting a minute for them to wake up, he started walking toward her. As he took the first step, he leg buckled under him and he fell face first into the ground. "Ow…"

Hinata gasped and rushed over to him. "Are you ok Naruto?" Naruto rolled onto his back and looked at her. "Hehehe, yah I'm fine. My leg was asleep." Hinata giggled. "Well then why didn't you let it wake up before walking?" Naruto blushed. "Well, uh, I saw you walking this way and uh, um…" He trailed off and switched subjects. "How are you?" She looked down at him confused. "I'm fine…are you going to get up?"

Naruto blushed again and then quickly got up. "What is that scroll over there?" Hinata said as she pointed at the blood scroll on the ground. "Oh, that's my secret weapon for the chuunin exams." Hinata raised an eyebrow with curiosity. "Oh really? What is it?" Naruto turned around to pick it up while explaining. "It holds my weapons. I plan on using them as my main means of attack."

Hinata looked worried. "Weapons, are you allowed to use them?" Naruto nodded. "Of course, I checked to make sure. They are considered ninja tools." Naruto looked at her eyes and frowned. He remembered what he had done a few days before.

'"_Hinata started to cry, but then her eyes grew wide as Naruto hugged her. "You mean a lot to me Hinata." Naruto pulled away but still held her shoulders. "Itachi-sensei will probably leave after the chuunin exams. He hasn't said if I'm going with him or not." Hinata's eyes were still filled with tears. _

_Naruto smiled. "Don't worry. I'm still your teammate and friend. You will see me on missions. Heck, there might be sometimes that we—" Naruto stopped as Hinata slapped him. "Why did you drag me out here to tell me all of that?" Naruto frowned. "Because you deserve to know." Hinata couldn't take it anymore. She burst into tears and hugged him as tight as she could.'"_

"Hinata…I'm sorry about what I said a few days ago. But I thought that it was the best time to tell you." Hinata frowned and looked at him. "It's ok Naruto. I'm glad that you told me when you did." They both stood there for awhile just looking at each other. In an attempt to get past this awkward moment, Naruto smiled.

"Hey Hinata, I still need to train to become stronger for the exams. Can you help me?" Hinata smiled back and nodded. "Of course I will Naruto." Naruto smiled back. "Cool, want to meet up with Kurenai-sensei and Shino?" Hinata thought for a moment. "No, how about just you and me train?" Naruto saw Hinata make an evil smile and blushed.

"Alright, let's go." He turned around and started walking towards the training grounds. He had only taken two steps when he felt something grab his hand. When he looked back he saw Hinata holding his hand. She blushed when he looked at her but she didn't let go. Naruto smiled and they headed for the village gate holding hands.

**Hidden Leaf Village (gate)**

When they got to the gate Naruto saw the same guards that were there a few days ago. He knew that they might not let him pass, but he wanted to try anyways. And sure enough, the second he tried to go through the gate they stopped him. "I don't care who you are with Naruto. You are still not allowed to leave the village." Naruto groaned and looked at Hinata.

"What do we do now Hinata?" She thought for a second and came up with an idea. "Follow me." He raised an eyebrow wondering what she had in mind, and followed her. She led him down a few streets he didn't recognize. They did a few twists and turns and he swore that he passed the ramen shop five times. After twenty minutes he could see Hinata's house, or rather mansion in the distance.

He didn't really think that she was taking him there, but he kept his hopes up. After another ten minutes of walking, they were at the front of the Hyuuga Mansion. "Umm, Hinata are you sure about this?" Hinata shook her head. "No, but it's worth a try." She let go of his hand and walked inside.

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Naruto sat there for a long time. After about half an hour, the door opened and Hinata came outside with a smile on her face. "Ok, follow me." Naruto was dumbfounded. He thought for sure her father would not approve of this. She led him around the mansion and into the backyard. "I should warn you, my father will be watching us the entire time."

That made Naruto uneasy but he was still very grateful. "Alright, what do you want to do?" Hinata blushed. "Do you want the truth?" Naruto nodded cautiously and eyed her suspiciously. "I want to k—"She stopped herself before she said what she wanted. "Never mind, let's try something." Naruto looked confused as Hinata lowered into the Hyuuga stance.

"What are you doing Hinata?" She smiled. "If you fight Neji in the chuunin exams, I want you to be ready for his attacks." Naruto understood. "So you want me to fight you so I am familiar with what Neji will throw at me?" Hinata nodded and activated her Byakugan. Naruto smiled and ran at her.

Hinata was surprised at how fast Naruto could run. She thought about the first time they fought and wondered if he fought the same way. _*He is going to focus on using his clones and fight up close. Luckily that's my style too.*_ She concentrated back on the fight just in time to dodge Naruto's punch. She lowered herself further and tried to strike his thighs. Naruto jumped backwards out of the way.

_*I can't let her hit me in my legs or I'm done for.*_ He watched her cautiously as she charged at him. She tried to stab him with her fingers but Naruto did his best to dodge. Her hands were moving very fast and she was so precise that it looked like Naruto was being attacked by needles. Naruto knew that he would get nowhere fighting like this so he did a back flip and caught her jaw with his foot.

Hinata stumbled back and looked at Naruto. _*That's new. I should've known he could do that from the preliminaries.*_ She took a moment to gather her thoughts and came up with a plan. Naruto took this time to plan something as well. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu." **A cloud of smoke appeared and when it was gone there were five Narutos.

Just like their last fight, each clone tried to fight her individually. Hinata disposed of them easily and pusher herself towards the real Naruto. _*I've got you now!*_ When she struck Naruto he disappeared into a puff of smoke. _*What? Where did he go?*_ She looked up and saw Naruto making a couple handsigns. His first finger was surrounded by chakra.

Hinata was terrified as she remembered what happened when Sakura was hit with that jutsu. "Here I come Hinata!" Naruto said as he sped down towards her. She had to act fast. She reached into her belt and threw a kunai at him. As Naruto blocked it with his other hand, he saw the paper bomb as it exploded.

Hinata smiled as she saw Naruto fall to the ground. Then she became worried and called to him. "Naruto! Are you ok?" Naruto slowly got up on his hands and knees. "That was nice thinking Hinata. I should be more careful." Hinata smiled and braced herself as Naruto charged at her again.

**Hyuuga Mansion (same time)**

Neji and Hiashi Hyuuga were watching Naruto and Hinata fight. "Hiashi," Neji said, "I still don't think that it was a good idea to let him train here." Hiashi nodded. "No, it was a bad idea. However we cannot refuse training to someone who is still participating in the chuunin exams, no matter who it is."

Neji became irritated. "Uncle Hiashi, as far as I'm concerned, Naruto should have been disqualified the moment that it was revealed that Itachi Uchiha had been training him. He could have been taught very dangerous jutsu which could give him an unfair advantage. He might even kill to win." Hiashi just kept watching Naruto fight his daughter.

"Neji, what will you do if you fight Naruto?" Neji looked at him with a confused look. "What do you mean 'what will I do'? I'll beat him as easily as I beat Hinata." Hiashi became irritated. "As I recall you didn't beat her, she forfeit." Neji ignored his anger. "It's all the same, I won and she lost." Just then the ground shook and they both looked outside to see what had happened.

**Hyuuga Mansion (outside)**

Naruto jumped in the air again and this time prepared a better seal. "This is it Hinata, **Two Pronged Seal!"** He launched himself down at her with incredible speed. Hinata mustered up all of her remaining strength and started to spin. **"Rotation!"** A blue sphere formed around her just in time to collide with Naruto's jutsu. The ground shook violently as the charkas clashed.

Naruto could feel his fingers burning as he hit the sphere of chakra. He was thrown back and hit a nearby tree. Hinata slowed down and the sphere dissipated. She fell to her knees and was panting hard. She looked up to see Naruto grunting in pain. She crawled over to him to make sure he was ok.

"Naruto, are you alright?" He nodded and they helped each other stand up. "Hinata, I had no idea you could put so much force behind the rotation." She ignored the comment and checked Naruto's body to make sure he was unharmed. When she was done she looked up and noticed that she was closer to his face than she intended. Naruto took her by surprise and kissed her gently on the lips.

They stood kissing and it seemed as though time stopped. Naruto thought that they had been kissing for hours. "Get your filthy hands off her!" Naruto and Hinata stopped kissing and looked over to see Neji who was so outraged that his head looked like it was going to explode. "Leave now Naruto, and don't you ever show your face here again!"

Naruto stared at him dumbfounded and then looked back at Hinata. She looked terrified by Neji's rage. He heard her whisper something. "Go Naruto, I will be fine." Naruto looked at her in disbelief. "But Hinata what about you?" She frowned. "Don't worry, I'll see you later." They were interrupted by Neji screaming at the top of his lungs. "LEAVE!" Naruto gave Neji one last angry glance and then jumped into the trees and away from the Hyuuga Mansion.

**Sorry guys but I had to split this into two parts just so I can stay organized. Take a potty break and come back for part two!**


	16. Naruto: The Exams Part 2

**Alright, time for part two: the chuunin exams. Don't forget that if you see a song name before a battle, listen to it while reading. It's my attempt at creating an atmosphere fit for the battle. Enjoy!**

**Hidden Leaf Village (park)**

Naruto was walking in circles around the park. _*I hope she's ok. Was it really so bad that we kissed? Why is Neji such a prick?"_ His thoughts were interrupted as he saw Kurenai walking by. Naruto thought to himself, _*That's right, I need Kurenai-sensei to teach me how to use my weapons more effectively.*_

Naruto walked over to her and when she saw him she smiled. "Hello there Naruto. How are you?" Naruto smiled back. "I'm fine Kurenai-sensei. I just came from Hinata's house and—" "Hinata's house? What were you doing there Naruto?" She asked with a tone hinting that he did something naughty. "No you don't understand, we were just sparring a little in case I needed to fight Neji."

Kurenai looked disappointed. "Oh…well what are you up to now?" Naruto looked nervous. "Actually sensei, I was hoping that you could teach me how to use my weapons more effectively." She was dumbfounded. "Me? I'm a genjutsu specialist Naruto." Naruto nodded. "I know, but I thought that any jounin must know the basics of swordplay."

She nodded. "Yes I do know the basics. I can teach you if you want but my knowledge in that area is just below that of a chuunin." Naruto smiled. "That is ok; I'm not a chuunin yet." She smiled and agreed with him. "Alright then, since you can't leave the village yet, how about we meet at the Ninja Academy's training ground tomorrow afternoon?" Naruto smiled. "Thank you Kurenai-sensei. I will see you there." Kurenai said goodbye and walked off to wherever it was she was going.

**Ninja Academy (next day)**

Naruto walked out into the training ground. He remembered all the time he spent here. He looked at the trees with hundreds of scratch marks. He took out a shuriken and threw it at the tree. Just then, Kurenai appeared and caught it between her fingers. "You shouldn't be throwing things so carelessly Naruto."

Naruto smiled. "Hi Kurenai-sensei. Do we get to train with my weapons today?" Kurenai nodded and Naruto brought out his sword and hook. "Alright Naruto, now put one weapon down." He looked confused. "What do you mean Kurenai-sensei?" Kurenai answered, "In order to be proficient with two weapons, you must first learn them separately, and then put them together."

It seemed to make sense so Naruto shrugged and put down the hook blade. "Now then, that saw blade that you have is used primarily as an offensive weapon. That means that you want to keep your enemy on their toes at all times. Also, since it has serrated edges, it is meant to inflict as many wounds as possible." Naruto nodded and watched his sensei form a clone.

"Ok, I want you to attack this clone in the way that you think the sword should be used." Naruto nodded and ran at the clone. He brought the sword up and swung it horizontally at the clone's chest. The clone took the hit, but instead of disappearing, it healed itself. "What happened?" Naruto asked. "My clone has regenerative properties but let's focus on your sword style. You understand that it is meant to inflict wounds and not kill, but you need to swing it much faster, like this."

Kurenai grabbed the sword out of Naruto's hand and swung at her clone 3 times in the time it took Naruto to hit it once. Naruto's eyes widened. "Do you understand now Naruto?" He nodded and Kurenai handed the sword back to him. "Your turn." Naruto took the sword and managed to hit the clone 3 times and was only slightly slower than his sensei. "Like that sensei?"

Kurenai nodded. "Ok, now put that one down and pick up the other one." Naruto did what he was told and held the hook blade in his left hand. "Now then, a hook blade is much different from the saw blade. First of all it is used primarily as a defensive weapon. That means that you will hardly ever be attacking with it. Since it has a hard time blocking normal kunai, I will be using a sword instead."

Kurenai summoned a normal long sword from a scroll she brought with her. "I want you to block my attacks in a way you think would be most effective." Naruto nodded and then Kurenai came at him. Her first attack was an overhead swing which Naruto blocked by putting the hook over his head. Then she swung horizontally and he blocked that by moving the blade to his side.

"No, no, no, you are using it all wrong Naruto." Naruto looked frustrated. "Well then how do you want me to use it?" Kurenai shook her head. "You are supposed to use it like a hook not a blade. Hook my sword and twist it away from me." Naruto nodded and this time when Kurenai came at him, he hooked the sword, twisted it out of her hands, and in a flash the hook was around her throat.

"Ve-Very good Naruto." He smiled and pulled the hook away from her. "Now you must learn to use both weapons at the same time." Naruto picked up the saw blade in his right hand and nodded. "I want you to fight both me and my clone at the same time." Naruto was shocked. "At the same time? I'm not an expert Kurenai-sensei!" She laughed. "Relax Naruto; just use what I taught you."

He nodded as both women ran at him. He dodged the first swing of the sword and caught the other sword with his hook. _*When did she summon another sword?*_ He used the hook to twist the sword out of the clone's hand and then dodged another swipe from the real Kurenai. He ran at the clone and swung the saw blade as fast as he could and managed to hit the clone 6 times in 2 seconds.

The clone vanished and Naruto turned to Kurenai who had just put away the sword. "Very good Naruto, that is all for today." Naruto smiled. "Thank you Kurenai-sensei. Now maybe I can use these blades right." She smiled and nodded, then left the academy. Naruto sealed his weapons and left the academy as well.

**Hidden Leaf Village (park-several days later)**

For the past two weeks Naruto had slept in a tree in the park. It was not the most comfortable place, but he did like seeing the stars as he fell asleep. As soon as he jumped down from the tree he saw a familiar face. "Hi Itachi-sensei." The old man looked up at him. "What did you call me you brat!" Naruto looked scared and backed up slowly.

_*That guy looked like Itachi-sensei's disguise, but I guess not.*_ He turned around and saw the same old man. "Oh, sorry sir I'll leave you alone." Naruto said as he backed up again. The old man spoke up. "What are you talking about Naruto?" Naruto sighed when he realized that this guy was Itachi. "Nothing Itachi-sensei."

The old man nodded. "Well then it's time for you to learn the scroll teleportation technique." Naruto smiled. "Really? I actually get to learn it now?" The old man nodded. "I should warn you though, summoning a scroll would put a big dent in your chakra, but summoning a blood scroll….you would almost deplete your chakra completely."

Naruto looked confused. "What does that mean Itachi-sensei?" Itachi lowered his head. "If a ninja uses all of their chakra…they die." Naruto's eyes grew wide as he realized the consequences of the blood scroll. "That means that if I use my weapons in the chuunin exams, I can only use them." Itachi nodded. "That's right, no clones, no other jutsu, just weapons." Naruto looked up. "Ok, let's get started." Itachi smiled. "Alright, follow me."

They walked for awhile and finally arrived at the village gate. "Itachi-sensei, I can't leave the village yet." Itachi looked at him. "Oh?" They continued walking and when they got to the gate they were stopped by the guards. "Hold it you two, Naruto isn't allowed to leave the village." Just then a messenger ninja arrived in front of the guards. After a few muffled words, the guard nodded and then looked back at Naruto. "Very well, it looks like your probation has been lifted Naruto." Naruto nodded and followed Itachi back to his hideout.

**Uchiha Hideout**

"Now that we are finally here I can teach you the summoning technique." Naruto smiled as Itachi brought out a scroll. "Ok Naruto, the scroll summoning technique is a combination of the summoning technique, and seal jutsu." Naruto looked confused. "What does sealing jutsu have to do with it?" Itachi sighed. "I'm getting there. Now then, normal summons, such as animals, require you to make a contract with them. Since you can't make a contract with a scroll you must form a seal on it."

Naruto nodded. "Ok, let's get started then." Itachi grinned as he took out a kunai. He cut his thumb and threw the kunai in some random direction. He then made a few handsigns and placed his thumb on the scroll. **"Transfer Mark Seal."** A green mark appeared on the scroll for a second and then vanished.

"Now what Itachi-sensei?" Itachi laughed. "Impatient as ever I see." Naruto grew irritated and pouted. "I'm not impatient just excited." Itachi shrugged and threw the scroll all the way to the entrance of the hideout. He then placed his still bleeding hand on the ground and said, **"Scroll Transfer Jutsu."** Instantly, in a puff of smoke, the scroll appeared beneath his hand.

Naruto was wide-eyed with amazement. "That was awesome sensei!" Itachi smirked. "Your turn Naruto. Start with a normal scroll. We will move up to the blood scroll eventually. Naruto nodded and got to work on the jutsu. Itachi went to his room and fell onto his bed. _*He will have that jutsu down in no time. I hope Kurenai taught him how to use those weapons well. He is going to need them.*_ Itachi nodded off and fell asleep.

**Uchiha Hideout (day of the finals)**

Naruto had been training for this day for several months and it was finally here. Today was the day he became a chuunin. He got out of bed and put on all of his gear. Itachi woke up and came out of his room to see Naruto fully dressed and ready to go. "Excited are we?" Naruto nodded and Itachi walked over to him.

"Naruto, this is a very important day. You will face many ninja so conserve your chakra as best you can. Remember, this exam is based on who fights well enough to become a chuunin, not who wins. You are very diverse and have several chuunin ranked jutsu. All that is left is to acquire the rank." Naruto nodded and then gave Itachi a hug.

Itachi did not see this coming and all of a sudden he was breathless. Naruto hugged him tighter. "Thank you for being a great sensei, Itachi." He was still stunned as this was the last thing he had expected from Naruto. He hugged Naruto back and said, "Your welcome Naruto." After they let go of each other Naruto made sure his scroll was with him and he headed out. Itachi watched him leave. _*Do me proud Naruto.*_

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Naruto walked through the streets towards the coliseum. It was a huge circular building with enough chairs to seat 3000 spectators. The chuunin finals were a huge tourist attraction so there were a lot of foreign vendors crowding the streets. Naruto made his way through them and finally arrived at the coliseum's front door.

He walked inside and inspected the competition. He saw the winners from the preliminaries: Gaara, Temari, Neji, Kiba, Sasuke, a weird guy from the Hidden Sound Village called Dozu, and Shikamaru. Naruto already knew how the ninja would be matched up. The finals were just a display of power. The genin would be matched up so that the strong fought the weak until the end. The strongest ninja would fight at the end to make the most spectacular show.

Naruto looked around and labeled the ninja in the way that the jounin would. Gaara, Sasuke, Neji, and himself were the elite. Temari, Kiba, Dozu, and Shikamaru were the weaker ones. A jounin walked into the room and grabbed the attention of all the genin. "All right, everyone is to go to the spectator's box. The exam will begin shortly." All the genin nodded and moved out of the area.

After waiting for the spectators to take their seats, the proctor announced, "I will now call the first two competitors." He looked down at his sheet. "Dozu Kinuta and Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto and Dozu walked onto the field. Naruto looked around the circular area. There were a few trees and a small pond, but nothing else was special.

As the proctor was going over the rules again, Naruto ignored him and thought to himself. _*I have to conserve my chakra for as long as I can. I also have to conceal my most effective moves until I absolutely need them.*_ The proctor waved his hand and the battle started.

xXxXxXxXx Thunderstruck by AC/DC xXxXxXxXx

Immediately Dozu raised his gigantic left arm. **"Sound Cannon." **Naruto barely dodged as a wave of wind rushed past him. Naruto thought he was unscathed, but as he tried to run at Dozu he lost his balance and almost fell. "What the hell?" Dozu chuckled. "Looks like you fell for it. Those aren't air waves I shoot, they are sound waves."Naruto stood up with some effort and looked at him harshly. "Sound waves?" Dozu grunted. "Yes, that means that even if you dodge it, the sound will knock you off-balance." Naruto formed a handsign. "Well then I'll just have to try harder then won't I?" **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" **Fifteen clones of Naruto appeared in a cloud of smoke.

Dozu grunted. "You shouldn't even try." All of the clones ran at him and, one-by-one, Dozu defeated them all. "Is that all you have kid?" Naruto ignored him and charged. Dozu raised his arm again and the sound blast surged forth. Naruto jumped over it but was hit by a second one that he was not ready for. He flew back and was knocked against a tree. Dozu laughed at him. "You should just give up now kid. It will save us both some time." Naruto scrambled to his feet and could hardly stand up straight. "Are you having trouble there kid?" Dozu said as he laughed again. Naruto kept his cool and regained his balance.

"I'm just warming up." Naruto said with a smirk on his face. **"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** This time, forty clones of Naruto appeared which made many of the spectators gasp. Neji leaned over the railing of the contestant's box and said, "Good God! How many can that brat summon?" Naruto smiled and all forty of the clones charged Dozu. Dozu brought up both hands this time and clapped them while saying, **"Sonic Wave."** A shockwave was released and was heading towards the real Naruto. It took out every single clone without slowing and hit Naruto. He flew back again and hit the ground hard.

"Looks like it's over." Dozu said as he walked towards Naruto. But before he reached him, the Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What? A Clone?" Dozu frantically looked around for the real Naruto. Meanwhile Naruto was hiding behind the tree that he had hit earlier. _*This isn't good. I need to find a way to catch him off guard.*_ Naruto peered around the tree and thought of a plan. He came out from hiding. "Hey, creepy arm guy." Dozu turned around. "I'm right here." Dozu laughed. "I see you finally gave up. Good, that makes this easy." He raised his arm and a sound blast came out again. This time, Naruto dodged it completely and brought out a scroll. He unsealed it and held out a giant star shuriken.

Naruto smirked and said, "Are you ready? Demon Wind Shuriken!" He threw the giant shuriken, but Dozu didn't move. "You really think that will work on me?" He raised his arm and shot the shuriken with a sound wave. The wave made the shuriken change course and it went up above Dozu's head. Naruto smiled. "Just as I thought." He made another handsign. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"** Dozu looked confused because he didn't see what was happening above him. The shuriken split into two and one of them transformed into a clone of Naruto. The clone grabbed the shuriken and threw it straight down at Dozu.

Dozu had no idea and before he could react, the giant shuriken pinned him to the ground by his right arm. He grunted in pain. "Damn it!" Naruto smiled and he looked up to see Hinata stand up from her seat. "Way to go Naruto!" He gave her the thumbs up. "What a loud-mouth bitch." Naruto looked down at Dozu with disbelief. "What did you say?" Dozu looked up at him from the ground. "I said that she is a loud-mouth bitch!" Naruto became angry and jumped back, performing a back flip in mid-air. He landed and summoned four giant shuriken. Dozu's eyes widened in fear. Naruto threw them and screamed. "No she is NOT!" Dozu quickly opened his mouth and said, "I give up!" Instantly the proctor jumped into the path of the shuriken and tried to stop them. However the shuriken had much more force behind them then he originally thought and he was pushed back four feet.

xXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXx

Everyone was staring at Naruto once again. They were all wondering how he had so much strength. The proctor walked over to Naruto and held up his arm. "The winner is Naruto Uzumaki." The crowd cheered as Naruto panted and waved with his other arm. The giant shuriken was removed so that Dozu could move again.

Dozu stood up and turned around but didn't move. Suddenly, he lost his temper and quickly turned around to shoot Naruto. However before he could even raise his arm, Naruto had a hold of him and put him in a headlock. The proctor rushed over, as did a few other instructors.

When Dozu was finally escorted off of the field, Naruto jumped back up to the contestant's box. The proctor took his place at the center of the field and called forth the next pair of ninja. "Neji Hyuuga and Temari." Neji walked towards the field. As he passed, Naruto said to him, "Don't die, I want a turn at you." Neji looked frustrated and said, "I'm not meant to lose here." Then he jumped down to confront his first opponent.

**Hope you all enjoyed the movie. Sorry it took me so long but I'm not used to writing 7000 words before updating. Please review! I don't care if you just say hi or rip on my writing, just REVIEW!**


	17. Triple Showdown

**I know I know its been awhile since I have updated and Im sorry. I got side tracked a lot but Im back now and that's what matters. Get ready for a lot of battles.**

**Chuunin Areana**

The battle between Neji and Temari lasted forever. Neither of them could land a hit for a long time. Neji ran at Temari. "Fool! Do you really think you can reach me?" Temari said as she swung her giant fan again. The cyclone of wind caught Neji and he flew back. _*Dammit, I'v got to get to her somehow.* _

Naruto watched the ongoing battle. _*At this rate Neji might actually lose.* _He thought. Naruto looked around at the other gennin. _*Let's see…Kiba, Gaara, Shikamaru, where is Sasuke?*_ Naruto could not find Sasuke. He wasn't in the spectator box. He decided that it wasn't that important and looked back to the fight.

xXxXxXxXxXx Sick by Adelitas Way xXxXxXxXxXx

Neji was standing up and trying to recover from the hit. "Damn you." Said Neji as he held his arm. "You should just give up now kid. You don't have a chance." Neji shook with anger. "I'm not going to lose here!" He ran at Temari and she raised her fan. She sent another cyclone at him and he flew back once more. _*I need to get past that attack.*_ Neji thought as he got up once more.

Temari didn't say anything and just swung her fan several times. Neji panicked and tried a jutsu. **"Rotation!"** A blue sphere appeared around Neji as he attempted to deflect the attacks. "Ha! That won't hold for long." Said Temari as she threw more cyclones at him. *_Damn, what do I do?* _ Neji was overwhelmed by the continuous cyclones and the sphere broke, sending him flying once again. Neji attempted to stand up and found that his legs were throbbing with pain.

"I'm done playing around. The next hit will finish you." Temari raised her fan once more and swung. Neji rolled behind a tree. The cyclone hit the tree and cut it several times, but Neji was barely scratched. He sighed. "Come on out little boy," Temari said, "let's finish this." He sat there for a little while to catch his breath. Neji thought of something and came out of hiding. _*This better work.*_

He ran at her one last time. "That's a good boy." She swung her fan and waited for it to hit him. Neji threw a paper bomb into it and the explosion dissapated the cyclone. "What!" Temari said. Neji took the opportunity and ran through the smoke. As soon as he reached her she brought up her fan for another swing. "Too late." Neji said as he started spinning in place. **"Rotation!"** A blue sphere erupted around Neji. It hit Temari with such force that she flew into the wall and made a crater. Neji took his chance and ran to her. **"Eight Trigrams 64 Palms." **Before she knew what hit her, Temari was bombarded with chakra-infused blows from Neji. She fell to the ground, unconscience.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Neji deactivated his byakugan. "It's over." He said as he turned away. The proctor raised his arm and declared him the winner, then he went back to the box with all of the other gennin. He looked over at Naruto and spat. "Next time that will be you at my feet." He smirked and walked away. Naruto didn't let it get to him and instead waited for the procter to call forward the next two combatants.

Once things were settled, the proctor called out the next two names. "Shikamaru and Gaara." Shikamaru silently walked out onto the field, followed by Gaara. They stood facing eachother very quietly. "Hey, Gaara," Shikamaru said, "I just want you to know that I'm not gonna make it easy for you." He waited for a response, but Gaara said nothing. He just glared at him with dark eyes. The proctor raised his arm and the battle began.

xXxXxXxXx Pure Hatred by Chimaira xXxXxXxXxXx

Shikamaru decided to start by testing Gaara's famous sand shield. He ran at him and threw several shuriken and kunai. Just as expected, the sand rose from the ground and protected Gaara. He then jumped over Gaara and threw more kunai, this time with paper bombs attached. Shikamaru landed and activated the paper bombs, setting off a medium explosion. He waited and was not surprised to see that the sand had completely absorbed the attack. Gaara had not made a single movement.

"So it's true, that sand is quite formidable." Shikamaru said as he took out more kunai. "I guess I'll just have to up the power." He attached more paper bombs to the kunai and threw them at an angle so that they would drop right onto Gaara. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu." **The kunai multiplied in mid-air and what had been 5 was now 30 explosive kunai. The sand came up to block the direct threats but the rest fell around Gaara. "Gotchya," said Shikamaru as he triggered the bombs. A huge explosion shook the stadium as the bombs blew up simultaneously.

The smoke took awhile to clear, but once it did, Shikamaru was astonished. Not only had the explosion from above been absorbed, but in an instant the sand around Gaara had come up to form a shell around him. "Arg, this is such a drag. How do I get past that sand?" The sand moved a little so that Gaara's face was visible. "You cannot get through my sand, nothing can." The sand moved on its own and attacked Shikamaru. He barely dodged a few hits and jumped back to get a decent amount of space beween Gaara and himself.

Shikamaru then got into a meditative position, half-kneeling while putting his hands together so that only the tips were touching. He just sat there and Gaara didn't make a move. The audience was growing impatient. They didn't want a drawn-out battle between these two. They wanted to see real action. But neither Shikamaru nor Gaara cared.

Suddenly Shikamaru's hands changed and formed a handsign. **"Shadow Possesion Jutsu." **A jet black shadow shot from Shikamaru and raced towards Gaara. Gaara, already anticipating this, threw a ball of sand at Shikamaru, forcing him to break the jutsu and dodge. _*Damn.*_ Shikamaru thought. _*He's smarter than I thought.*_

Shikamaru looked around at the areana. There were a few shadows, but most of the area was in the sun. _*I have to get him to move into the shadows by the tree.* _He thought for a minute and came up with a strategy. He looked into the audience stands and found Ten-Ten. He gave her a thumbs-up and smirked. She knew what this meant. Shikamaru then turned back to face Gaara.

"I hoped I wouldn't have to use this, but you give me no choice." Gaara just stared as Shikamaru took out a small scroll. He unsealed it and a giant 3-foot kunai appeared. Naruto was in awe of it's size. _*I don't think even Itachi-sensei had a kunai that big!*_ He looked at the kunai and it had a purple tag on it. He remembered something Itachi had said. _"Explosive tags are ordered by color. From weakest to strongest, the colors are: white, green, blue, red, purple, orange, and black." _Naruto's eyes widened. "That Gaara is in for a surprise."

Shikamaru threw the giant kunai directly at Gaara, and as expected the sand caught it. He then ran towards it and kicked the kunai, pushing it into the sand. Even Gaara was scared of what would come next. Shikamaru formed a handsign and triggered the explosive. A huge shockwave erupted from it and it blew a few limbs off of the tree behind Gaara. Gaara himself was knocked back a few feet, even with the sand protecting him! Shikamaru smiled. Now Gaara was in the shadow of the tree.

He ran around Gaara and knelt next to the tree. **"Shadow Possesion Jutsu." **This time, the shadow shot towards Gaara with four times the speed of the last one. Gaara's shadow was connected with Shikamaru's. Shikamaru sighed. "It's over." Gaara looked unfazed as both his and Shikamaru's arm were raised in the air. Without command, the sand raced toward Shikamaru. He had come to far to break the jutsu now. He quickly tried to speak so as to make Gaara forfeit."I give u-" But just before he said the last word, Shikamaru's jutsu faded as he screamed in pain. His scream was deafening. He looked down and saw that Gaara's sand had completely smashed his foot. Every bone up to his left ankle was broken into tiny pieces. Shikamaru finally managed to scream, "I GIVE UP!"

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

The proctor immedietly stepped in and used a jutsu to separate Shikamaru's foot from the sand. Gaara blinked and casually walked back up to the spectator's box. The four gennin watched as Shikamaru was carried away. Even Sasuke was shocked. Naruto stared in disbelief. _*Woah, what just happened?*_

Gaara finally walked into the spectator's box and everyone became tense. They all shared one thought, _*He didn't even try and almost killed Shikamaru.*_ Once all of debris was picked up off the field, the proctor called forth the next two ninja. "Sasuke and Kiba." Kiba flinched because he knew nothing of his comrade's power. But he walked out onto the field calmly.

Sasuke and Kiba stood facing eachother. Sasuke tilted his head both ways to pop his neck. "This is gonna be too easy." Kiba spat, "You think so!?" He became angry. "I'm gonna smash you into the ground Sasuke!" Sasuke nodded. "Hmph, you arn't even worth my time." The proctor sensed the tension between the two and looked towards another official and nodded. He raised his arm and said, "Begin."

xXxXxXxXxXx The Bleeding by Five Finger Death Punch xXxXxXxXxXx

Both Kiba and Sasuke ran at eachother. Kiba tried to punch Sasuke straight in the face but Sasuke dodge and landed a kick on Kiba's stomach. He then tried to follow up with a backhand to the face but he was interrupted when Akamaru knocked Kiba over. "Hey, who's side are you on?" Kiba said while rolling away from a heel to the stomach. He looked at Akamaru and nodded. "I know, buddy. We need to work together. "He looked back at Sasuke and smirked. "You need to try harder than that."

"I don't even need my sharingan to beat you." Sasuke sniffed. Kiba got angry again and charged at Sasuke with Akamaru. They flanked Sasuke on both sides and attacked at the same time. Sasuke dodged them both but flew back when Kiba surprised him with a kick to the gut. "Arg," Sasuke groaned as he stumbled back. "Not so tough without your special eyes are you?!" Kiba laughed at his own pride. He looked at Akamaru and nodded. "**Man Beast Clone!"** Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba and snarled at Sasuke. "Let's go Akamaru!" Akamaru growled and they both ran at Sasuke.

They continuously attacked Sasuke and didn't let up for a second. Sasuke was able to dodge most of their attacks but he did get hit a few times and was getting bruised. "Now Akamaru!" Kiba said, **"Fang Over Fang!" **The two spiraled and flew towards Sasuke, hitting him several times and he was thrown into the air.

Naruto became worried. _*What's with Sasuke? It's like he's not even trying….*_ Naruto did not understand. Sasuke was actually a tough opponant last time they fought. Now he seemed extremely weak. _*Something isn't right.*_ Naruto observed the battle closely. _*He's waiting for something. But what?*_

Kiba and Akamaru looked up and grinned. "He's done for." They both jumped up at him. **"Fang Over Fang!"** Sasuke looked peaceful. "It's time to quit the charade." He flipped in mid-air and looked at the two figures spiraling towards him. "Take this! **Lightning Style: Lightning Senbon!"** Thousands of electrically charged senbon flew at the pair of animals. Kiba and Akamaru were almost immedietly knocked out of their justu and impaled with the numerous senbon. They hit the ground hard and Sasuke landed between them both with ease.

"What was that?" Kiba said as he struggled to stand up. Akamaru changed back into a pup. "That," Sasuke said, "Is called a REAL justu." He smirked and formed a few handsigns. "And here is another one. **"Fire Style: Flame Ring." **A line of fire formed around all three of them forming a ring. "Here's where it gets interesting." The fire started to rise from the ground and formed a wall around them that was about 6 feet tall. "What the hell is this!" Kiba protested. "This," Sasuke said, "Is your end." He glared at them to show he was serious.

Sasuke ran at Kiba. Akamaru tried to jump in the way but Sasuke batted him away, which sent him flying to the other side of the circle. Lightning emerged from Sasuke's first and middle finger on his right hand. "It's over." He said as he raised his hand. **"Lightning Style: Senbon Sword!" **He thrust the sword into Kiba and it impaled him, making him spit out blood. He then threw Kiba at the wall of fire. When he hit it, Kiba's back was seared and he bounced off of it. Kiba fell onto the ground. Either unconscience, or dead…

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

The ring of fire dissapated and medics rushed onto the field to rescue Kiba and Akamaru. The proctor raised his hand. "The winner is, Sasuke." Everyone stared with their mouths open at Sasuke's demonstration of power. Naruto especially took note of his strength. _*Wow. Both Sasuke and Gaara easily won.*_ Naruto felt weak in comparison to them. _*No.*_ He thought. _*I can beat them. I am strong too.*_ The proctor spoke aloud so that the audience could hear him. "We will be taking a two hour intermission. The battles will resume once the contestants have taken a rest."

Everyone got out of their seats to stretch and debate on who would ultimately win. Hinata was also sitting in the stands next to her father. She got up and stretched and turned to look at her father. "I will be back soon." She smiled but Hiashi looked through this. "Where are you going?" Hinata tilted her head. "I was just going to walk around and go to the bathroom."

Hiashi frowned. "Alright, but don't let me catch you with that Naruto. He's a bad seed." Hinata agreed but crossed her fingers behind her back. She turned away and walked out of the stadium. _*Naruto is __not__ a bad seed. He is just a little different.* _She smiled when she thought of Naruto. Hinata decided to go find him.

Naruto was walking around outside the stadium thinking of ways to beat the three other gennin. He was interuppted when Hinata tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and instantly smiled. "Hey, Hinata. What are you doing here?" She smiled. "I came to see how you were doing. Are you worried about your next fight?"

Naruto nodded. "I hate to admit it, but none of the ninja I could be put up against look easy. Neji is really fast and will overwhelm me at close combat. Sasuke has a vast amount of powerful jutsu, and Gaara won't even have to move to beat me. I'm starting to think that I am the weakest out of us four."

Hinata shook her head. "Don't think like that Naruto. You may not know immedietly how to beat them, but I'm sure you will find a way to win, no matter who you have to face." She smiled and so did he. Her smile always made him more confident. "Thanks Hinata. Let's go for a walk." Hinata nodded and grabbed his hand. They walked away from the stadium and proceeded to make their way through the city.

**Alright I finally finished this chapter. Sorry once again that I took so long to update. I'll try to get the next chapter out soon so that the chunnin exams are over with and we can proceed with the next arc. Please REVIEW!**


	18. The Secret and The Weapon

**Alright guys, time for another chapter. I'm gonna slow things down a bit at the beginning and let your hearts take a breather from the action. I also noticed that I didn't quite fill all of you in about how Naruto and Hinata grew close so I'm going to start with that. Don't worry the action will pick back up in the second half of the chapter.**

**Hidden Leaf Village (park)**

Naruto and Hinata walked through the park. They held hands and often looked at eachother and smiled. They walked towards a tree in the middle of the park and stopped. "Hinata…" She turned to look at Naruto who looked like he was thinking of something. "Why do you like me?" She looked surprised by the question. "What do you mean Naruto?"

Naruto turned to look at her. "I mean what made you attracted to me in the first place?" She giggled. "Truthfully Naruto, I'v had a crush on you for some time." He looked confused. "Really? Since when?" She looked up and smiled. "Well, since the day you joined the academy I guess." Naruto smiled. "Naruto, do you know what made me finally gather the courage to ask you out?" Naruto shook his head. "Well, it was during one of our missions. The one where we had to escort the weapons dealer to the Hidden Sand Village."

**Uchiha Hideout (several months earlier)**

Naruto was excited. Today was his first real mission. No dog walking and fetching runaway cats. There was actually danger involved in this mission. He packed his gear for the mission and headed out of Itachi's hideout. Before he left, Itachi called out to him. "Naruto, don't push yourself too hard. Remember that you are still recovering from that fight with the Kazekage." Naruto nodded and jumped out of the hideout to meet with his team.

**Hidden Leaf Village (main gate)**

Kurenai and Hinata were already at the gate. They both arrived early. Naruto came running towards them from the forest. "Naruto, what were you doing in the forest? You were supposed to be getting ready for the mission." Naruto laughed nervously. "Well you see, I got up a little too early so I decided to get some training in before we left." Kurenai shrugged. "Alright, just make sure that you are prepared. We might run into some trouble on this mission."

Naruto nodded and double-checked his bag to make sure he had everything. He then walked over and stood next to Hinata. This made her blush. A few minutes later, Shino arrived along with the person they were escorting. He was a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard and a bald head. Naruto could tell that he was no ninja, which made him even more excited. _*Cool, we are escorting this old weapons dealer who looks to have no fighting experience. This should make things a little more difficult.*_

Naruto loved it when things became difficult. It gave him a chance to test himself. "Alright team, listen up." Kurenai said to get their attention. "Just to re-brief you on the mission, we are to escort Mr. Rozo to the Hidden Sand Village. It is normally a three-day journey but since this is an escort mission, it will take us four days to get there." The three gennin nodded showing that they understood. "Alright then, let's head out."

**Ezuna Plains (two days later)**

Team Kurenai had been walking through the forest for two days and had finally reached the plains that seperated the forest from the desert. "Let's stop here for now." Kurenai said as she set her backpack down. "We will need to be fully rested in order to make it through the desert in two days." The team agreed and started to set up camp. Naruto was in charge of gathering firewood, Hinata was to set up camp, and Shino was sent out to find food.

After camp was set up, they all sat around the fire and talked about the rest of the mission. "Kurenai-sensei," said Naruto, "are we going to fight anyone anytime soon?" She laughed. "Naruto, you should not be so eager to battle. Life as a ninja is not always about fighting. It's more about protecting and maintaining peace." Naruto sighed and stared at the fire. "I know."

After an hour of Mr. Rozo telling stories about weapons, Kurenai decided that it was time to rest. All of them climbed into their own tent except Naruto. Hinata came out of her tent to see him still staring at the fire. "Naruto, you should go to bed. We will all need our strength tomorrow." Naruto turned to look at her. "I know, I'll go to bed soon. I'm just thinking about things, that's all." She smiled and went back into her and Kurenai's tent.

Truthfully, Naruto didn't feel tired at all. He felt like he could just stare at the fire for hours and contemplate the randomness of its flame. He felt safe since they set up multiple traps around the camp, and he also didn't very much like the idea of sharing a tent with Shino. Just thinking about his bugs gave him the chills. Without knowing it, Naruto passed out in front of the fire, sleeping while sitting up.

**Camp (an hour later)**

Naruto awoke to a strange sound. He opened his eyes and heard whimpering. He looked around while half-asleep and saw someone holding Hinata over his shoulder. She was gagged so she wouldn't make any noise. The man turned around without noticing Naruto and ran into the forest. After staring blankly for a second, Naruto snapped into reality. _*Someone has taken Hinata!*_ He got up and rushed into the forest, forgetting to tell the rest of his team.

He ran as fast as he could after the kidnapper. He had to find a way to stop him. If he threw a kunai he might hit Hinata. _*Arg, what do I do?*_Almost instantly his mind became calm. It felt as though time stopped and he felt like neither him, nor the kidnapper were moving. He thought to himself. _*I'v got to catch him. Think Naruto think!*_ He now knew what to do and, as if sensed by the world, time began to flow normally and he was chasing the ninja again. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"**

Naruto yelled out his jutsu as loud as he could and hoped that his team would wake up. Fifteen clones appeared and started to chase the ninja holding Hinata. One went back to alert his team. Naruto had to act quickly or he would lose the kidnapper. One by one, the clones threw eachother at the ninja. He was fast, but the Naruto clones were flying faster and one tackled him, sending both him and Hinata spiraling to the ground.

Naruto took his chance and the real Naruto dove for Hinata. He caught her and spun in mid-air so that she landed on top of him while he hit the ground. He quickly got up. "Hinata are you ok?" He ungagged her and she took a minute to catch her breath. "Naruto, you saved me." Naruto blushed. "Of course I did Hinata. You are my teammate." Hinata looked a little dissappointed for some reason but shrugged it off.

They both stood up. "Let's get him Naruto." He nodded as Hinata and the fourteen Narutos charged the kidnapper ninja. The ninja turned around and used a jutsu. **"Water Style: Water Tsunami!"** A huge wave of water erupted from his feet and collided with all of them. All of the clones were destroyed and Naruto rolled on the ground while Hinata flew into a tree. "Hinata!" Naruto got up and ran over to her.

"Ugh, Naruto?" Hinata was feeling weak. She had hit her head pretty hard. "Don't get in the way kid. Just hand the girl over nice and easy." Naruto turned around and stood up to face the ninja. He became angry. "What do you want with Hinata?" Naruto said in a threatening tone. The ninja snorted. "That's none of your buisiness kid. Now hand her over."

Naruto shook with anger, but he managed to calm himself. "No. If you want her, you will have to go through me." The ninja laughed. "Do you know who I am boy? I am the legendary bounty hunter Noeme Gibuntaro." Naruto looked confused. "Noeme Gibuntaro? You actually exist?" Noeme looked at him with an angry smirk. "What do you mean?" Naruto almost laughed. "I used your name awhile ago."

Noeme spat at him. "Whatever kid. Hand over the girl or prepare to die." Hinata tried to get up but couldn't move. Naruto shook his head. "I already told you, you are going to have to go through me." Noeme shrugged. "Whatever, prepare to die." He ran at Naruto and raised his fist to punch him. Naruto knew that dodging would put Hinata in danger, so instead he tried to grab Noeme's fist. But Noeme was too strong and he followed threw and smashed Naruto's hand against a tree, breaking it.

Naruto screamed in pain. "Naruto!" He turned to look at Hinata, and he smiled. "Don't worry Hinata, I can take this guy. Noeme laughed. "Take this!" He threw Naruto away from Hinata and into another tree. Naruto slowly got up. He was breathing heavily. Noeme turned his attention to Hinata. "You are coming with me." He reached down to grab her. Naruto suddenly appeared and grabbed his wrist, throwing Noeme away from Hinata. "You little brat! How did you get over there so quickly?"

Naruto smirked. "It's a secret." He then looked down at Hinata and smiled. Naruto brought his hands up and formed a handsign. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Twenty more shadow clones appeared. "You don't learn do you boy?" Noeme started to form a few handsigns but he was interrupted when he saw a clone flying at him. He had to break his jutsu to dodge.

"You fucking kid!" He snarled and ran towards the Naruto guarding Hinata. Noeme destroyed every clone that got in his way. Naruto stood his ground and started to make handsigns. "Naruto…" Hinata looked up at him. "Naruto still stared straight at Noeme. "Don't worry Hinata. I won't let him touch you." He smirked as Noeme destroyed his last clone and ran straight at him with his fist raised. "You're mine!" Naruto sidestepped and whispered, "Too slow." The tip of his first finger was covered in chakra and he tapped Noeme's forehead. **"Single Pronged Seal."**

A blue seal mark appeared on Noeme's head and Naruto moved his hands much faster than either Noeme or Hinata thought possible. He grabbed Noeme by the neck and threw him as hard as he could into the ground, hard enough to bounce. The breath was knocked out of him and he layed there, paralyzed. Naruto sighed and turned to look at Hinata. He knelt down to check for any marks on her. "Are you ok Hinata?" She nodded her head. "Naruto, that was so cool. If it wasn't for you I don't know what would have happened." Naruto blushed. "It was nothing." Hinata shook her head. "No, it was something. Naruto I'm really glad that we are on the same team. I like you and-" They were interrupted when Kurenai and Shino arrived.

**Hidden Leaf Village (park, present time)**

Naruto smiled as they remember how it all started. "By the way Hinata, I don't think you ever finished what you were going to say back then." She blushed. "Well, I was going to say that I like you and that I hope we can become more than just teammates." Naruto smiled and looked at her. "We are definitely more than teammates." She blushed and he leaned in and kissed her.

"I think it's time to head back to the arena. It's been about and hour and a half." Hinata agreed and they waled back to the stadium just as they had walked to the park, hand in hand.

**Chunnin Arena**

The stands were almost filled back up as the spectators returned to their seats. Naruto was hyped up and ready for his next battle. _*No matter who it is, I will do my best to win. Not only for Itachi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei, but for Hinata.*_ The proctor looked around to make sure everyone was here. "Alright, we will commence with the semi-finals. There will be no break between the semi-finals and the finals." Everyone seemed to understand so he called forth the next pair of ninja.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga." Naruto's heart jumped. It was finally time for him to fight Neji. Neji was excited as well. Neither of them wasted any time getting onto the battlefield. "I assume you both know the rules?" Both Naruto and Neji nodded. "Alright, you should know that there is one new rule. In both the semi-finals and finals, you are not allowed to forfeit. The spectators get rather angry when the final three fights are boring." Naruto and Neji just stared at eachother and nodded, not taking their eyes off of eachother for a minute. "Begin."

Neither Neji nor Naruto moved. "You know Neji, we might have gotten off on the wrong foot. Or maybe you just plain don't like me, I don't know." Neji just stood there. "I like Hinata, and I'm going to win for her." Neji got a disgusted look on his face. "What makes you think you can win? You are a little weakling who until now has been winning by luck alone." Naruto chuckled. "You don't really believe that do you? I have been training for months to be where I am now. I'm not turning back now." Neji smirked. "Well that's too bad, because I'm stopping you here." Naruto smirked back and said, "Then come on."

xXxXxXxXxXx Hero by Skillet xXxXxXxXxXx

Neji ran at Naruto. Naruto didn't make a move. He just sat there staring and waiting for Neji to get close. "Fool, take this." Neji threw several chakra-infused blows at Naruto. However Naruto had no problem dodging them. Neji picked up the speed but Naruto still dodged them like they were nothing. Neji became irritated and lost concentration. He made a wrong move and Naruto used this to his advantage. He grabbed Neji by the wrist and tossed him aside into the dirt.

"**Shadow Clone Jutsu."** Twenty clones appeared in a giant puff of smoke next to Naruto. Neji jumped back a few times and regained control over himself. "Are you sure you want to do this Neji?" Neji didn't answer but instead dropped down into his clan's stance. All of the clones charged at him. Neji timed it just right and vaulted over a few of the clones to that he landed in the direct center of the group. He waited for them to get close enough and started to spin. **"Rotation!"** A blue sphere erupted around him and all of the clones were instantly destroyed He then used the momentum of the rotation to launch himself forward at Naruto.

Naruto sidestepped and tried to punch Neji in the gut. Neji predicted this and twisted out of the way just in time. Neji dropped into his stance again. "You lose, Naruto." Naruto tried to jump away but it was too late. He was caught in the jutsu. **"Eight Trigrams: 64 Palms!"** Neji moved extremely fast and stabbed Naruto several times in succession. The hits were grouped by doubles as Neji said, "two palm, four palm, eight palm, sixteen palm, thirty-two palm," Naruto stumbled backwards and was unable to dodge the last hit, "sixty-four palm!" The last hit connected and sent out a blast of chakra that sent Naruto flying across the areana.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Neji deactivated his byakugan. "It's over." He walked over to Naruto and looked down at him. "I told you that I would win. You shouldn't have wasted your time. You are lucky that you are alive." He turned around and walked away. Naruto willed himself to get on his knees. "Don't you walk away from me." Neji stopped and turned to look at him. "You don't get it do you? You lost Naruto." Naruto stood up and his legs were shaking. "I'm not done. I can keep going." Neji shook his head. "Hmph, fine I'll have to kill you then." The proctor decided not to step in.

Naruto laughed. Softly at first, then louder until the whole statium could hear him. "What are you laughing about!" Neji said angrily. "Neji, you should never underestimate your opponate. No matter how sure you are that you have won. Naruto formed a few handsigns and touched his heart with two fingers. **"Reverse Seal: Suppressed Two Pronged Seal."**A huge shockwave shot from Naruto that was almost powerful enough to knock Neji over. Neji couldn't believe it. _*What the hell! Where did all of this chakra come from?*_ Naruto smiled. "Now the battle begins."

xXxXxXxXxXx Monster by Skillet xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto ran so fast at Neji that he was a blur. Neji was not ready for it and took a kick to the stomach. He flew back and hit the only tree in the stadium. The crowd was going wild. This was certainly a great spectacle. Hinata was no longer worried. Naruto looked at Neji and had a blue aura circling around him. "When I said I was going to win, I meant it. I had to wait until you thought you had won so that I could catch you off guard." Naruto smiled and Neji ran at him in anger. "I'll kill you!" Naruto waited for him to get close then effortlessly jumped over Neji and kicked the back of his head.

Naruto landed and quickly turned around. He took his opportunity to bite his thumb and formed a long string of handsigns. His hands were moving so fast that even Kakashi couldn't read them. Naruto then slammed his hand on the ground. **"Scroll Tranfer Jutsu!"** A familiar scroll appeared under Naruto's hand. He quickly unsealed it and took out his weapons, Claw and Serra. This surprised everyone even more. The aura around Naruto faded. _*Ok, I've got a little chakra left, but for the most part I have to use my weapons now.*_

Neji got up and smirked. "Ha! You plan to beat my taijustu with your kinjutsu? Good luck with that, you will need it." Naruto just waited as Neji charged and threw several more chakra infused blows at him. This time however, Naruto parried every single hit instead of dodging, meaning that Neji had to try a lot harder to hit him. After two minutes of deflecting attacks, Naruto decided that enough is enough and sidestepped Neji's attack. Neji was caught off guard and Naruto hooked his extended wrist with claw and twisted his arm. Neji screamed in pain as he was tossed through the air and thrown to the ground.

Naruto jumped back and waited for Neji to get up. Neji stuggled to get back to his feet. "I, I won't lose to a brat like you." Naruto smiled. "That's funny, the last guy that called me a brat I almost killed." Neji didn't find that funny and ran at Naruto. Naruto stood still and took a defensive position. "Take this! **Eight Trigrams: 64 Palm!"**Neji once again threw his attacks at Naruto. However this time, each of his grouped hits were deflected. Even when he got to 64 palm, Naruto blocked every hit while moving his weapons at a blinding speed.

Neji was exhausted. "It's time to finish this," said Naruto. He hooked Neji's leg and thrusted him into the air. Neji was unable to do anything as Naruto jumped up after him. He swung Serra several times in succession just as Kurenai had taught him. He then hooked Neji by his neck and threw him to the ground. Neji was bleeding heavily and was unable to move. The proctor called the battle. "The winner is, Naruto Uzumaki."

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

The crowd cheered as didHinata. Naruto smiled and sealed his weapons away. He then strapped the scroll to his back. He was exhausted, but he had won. He walked back up to the spectator box and sat on the floor to meditate for his next fight.

**Well that's it! Sorry if the flashback was too long but I felt like I had to explain it. Yea I know I tricked you into thinking Neji won, but I had to find some way to make the battle epic. OK, now some of you aren't understanding me. I WANT YOU TO REVIEW! You may think, "oh I don't need to he gets plenty of reviews." That is a lie. I need reviews. And yes that means that I want you to review EVERY CHAPTER that you read. Why? Because I think that its ridiculous to get 1300 hits in one day and only have one review. I don't care if you tell me that my story is awful and that I should go die in a hole. JUST REVIEW!**


	19. And So it Begins

**I'm back in action! Finally after my long break, I will continue (and hopefully finish) this ark. Sorry to keep you all waiting but I promise that it is worth the wait. I have the next 10 chapters outlined and ready to type. And I will be typing during all of my spare time. So without any further comments, let's begin.**

**Forest outside Hidden Leaf Village**

A strange figure cloaked in a gray robe stared at the walls of the Hidden Leaf. "Soon you will be mine, traitorous Leaf." The man laughed softly and started walking towards the wall. Four shinobi clad in white robes with huge purple rope belts appeared behind him. One of them spoke. "My Lord, we are at your command." The strange man nodded. "Good. Be ready to execute the 4-man barrier on my mark."

**Chuunin Areana**

Everyone knew who the next contestants were. It was the most anticipated battle; the one everyone came to see. The proctor called forth the last two semi-finalists. "Gaara of the Sand and Sasuke Uchiha." The crowd roared with excitement as both ninja appeared on the field almost instantly.

Naruto looked up and saw their eyes. Neither of them were showing fear. They were almost the same person. _"I've got a bad feeling about this."_Naruto decided to stay seated on the floor but he kept his eyes on them while he regained his chakra. The proctor raised his arm, and the fight began.

xXxXxXxXxXx Down with the Sickness by Disturbed xXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke ran at Gaara. _"I'm going to end this fight as quickly as possible."_ Gaara didn't move but instead waited for Sasuke. Sasuke readied his fist in the air and attempted to punch Gaara. As expected, the sand from his gourd came up to protect him at the last minute. Gaara folded his arms as the sand lashed out at Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged several strands of sand before jumping forward for another hit, this time with his foot. He kicked hard and was blocked by the sand again. Sasuke ran around Gaara throwing several shuriken and kunai, looking for an opening. After cicling Gaara twice, he jumped into the air and made a few hand signs. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."** A giant fireball impacted the sand shield from above.

Just as the smoke started to clear, Sasuke threw more shuriken and one broke threw. However, as it hit Gaara, a crack appeared on his skin. Sasuke stood up straight. "So that is your ultimate defense? A fast sand shield and a sheet of sand covering your body." Gaara decided to go on the offensive and waved his arms to manipulate the sand. He hurled it at Sasuke in the form of imitation fireballs but Sasuke dodged each one with ease. "Ha, is that all you got?" Sasuke smirked. Just then, he felt a thud on his leg. The sand had come back around to grab his leg! He tried to shake it off but was unable to. He was submerged in sand in moments as Gaara waved his arms. **"Sand Coffin!"** The sand around Sasuke was compressed. But no blood came out.

The crowd was silent. They turned to one another to with questions. "Is that all? Did the Uchiha really lose?" Just then, a bright light came from inside the coffin. The sand exploded outward and Sasuke dropped to the ground. The crowd cheered and waited for the next move. Sasuke looked up at Gaara. "You're done." Before Gaara could think, Sasuke was charging at him with a blade of lightning emerging from his hand. The sand came up to defend him but it Sasuke was too fast. **"Lightning Style: Senbon Sword!"**The sword stabbed right through Gaara, peircing his chest. Gaara stood there, his mouth open in shock.

Sasuke smirked but just as he thought he won, Gaara started to crack. His body cracked all the way through until finally, it crumpled into sand._"What is this?"_ Sasuke jumped back and cancled his jutsu. He waited for Gaara to show himself. A shadow loomed over Sasuke and he looked up. There, in the sky above him, was a giant ball of sand.

"Fuck!" Said Sasuke as he made a few handsigns. Before he could finish his jutsu, he was interrupted by mini sand bullets that were shot from the sphere. He dodged as many as he could but a few got to him and cut through his arms. Sasuke quickly recovered and jumped up high, above the sand sphere. "It's time to finish this." He said as he made several handsigns. The bullets kept coming but he dodged them in mid-air and held his hand out. **"Lightning Style: Lightning Senbon!"**

Thousands of lightning-imbued senbon needles flew at the sphere. To everyone's surprise, they cut right through the sand, poking several hundred holes into the sphere. Sasuke landed and the sand started to fall. Sasuke let his guard down for just a second, and the sand that hit the ground exploded into spires of sand that shot right towards him. Sasuke took one to the chest. Luckily, he braced for the impact by surrounding his body with lightning.

The force was enough to send Sasuke flying into the wall of the areana, but it could have been worse. He looked up and saw the rest of the sphere of sand remain intact as it settled to the ground again. Sasuke decided to step it up and use his ultimate move. He made a few handsigns and shouted, **"Fire Style: Flame Ring!"**Extremely hot fire surrounded the sphere as Sasuke charged while making more handsigns.

He threw one hand forward and held the other at his side. **"Lightning Style: Lighting senbon!"**The senbon flew towards the sphere and just as they started to impact he held out his other hand. **"Lightning Style: Senbon Sword Tansformation!"**A sword emerged from his hand and at the same time, the senbon he shot earlier fused into one beam, connecting with his sword. The 15-foot long sword pierced the sphere.

Gaara loocked over at his shoulder. "What is this?" He smelled a familiar odor. One that he smelled when he killed. "Blood? Blood! BLOOD!" The crowd went silent as Gaara screamed a blood-curdling scream. "BLOOD! MY BLOOD! I'M BLEEDING!" The sphere around him fell to the ground as Gaara's body started to grow. It became rigid and started to become coarse like sand.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Before anyone could do anything, a green flash appeared on the field and headed straight for Gaara. **"Three Pronged Seal: Suppresion!"**Gaara's body stopped transforming and started to revert back to normal. Someone screamed out. "It's Naruto! He stopped Gaara." It was true. Naruto was standing in front of Gaara with his sealing jutsu on his chest. Gaara crumpled to the ground and remained unconscious.

The crowd was in an uproar. They shouted. "Cheater! Disqualify him!" Naruto looked around and went to see the proctor. "Please excuse me sir. I recognized what was happening to Gaara and I wanted to stop him before it got out of control. He is a jinchuuriki and it was starting to grab ahold of him." Several other Jounin were on the field now, examining Gaara and listening to Naruto.

The proctor nodded. "Is that so?" He looked over to Gaara, then to another jounin. "Go tell the Hokage and Kazekage what you have heard and find out if it is accurate." The jounin nodded and was gone in a flash. The proctor turned to Naruto. "You know, if you are wrong then you will be disqualified for interfering with this match." Naruto nodded. "Yea I know."

The jounin returned. "It is all true. The kazekage confirmed that Gaara is in fact the one-tailed jinchuuriki." The proctor nodded and then spoke to the crowd. "Attention everyone, I have just received word that Naruto's actions were indeed necessary, and that both the Hokage and the Kazekage agree that he shall not be disqualified." The crowd started to "boo" as Naruto started to walk off the field.

The proctor attempted to calm them down. "Avid spectators: would you have Naruto disqualified and the final fight be a forfeit? Naruto has in no way altered the outcome of this fight. The medics have said that Gaara's wound was lethal if it was not treated immediately. Surely you would like to see the seal user Naruto face off with the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke?" The crowd started to cheer. "Alright then, the next battle will start shortly."

Sasuke walked off the field and avoided Naruto's gaze. Naruto decided that now would be a good time to find Hinata. So he went up to the stands. He received weird looks and before he could find Hinata, her father, Hiashi, found him.

"Naruto." Said Hiashi's cold voice. Naruto turned to look at Hiashi. "I hate to admit it, but that was an impressive jutsu. Three Pronged Seal was it?" Naruto nodded. "Uh, thank you sir." Hiashi looked away and stared at the open field. "I'm going to be honest with you, I don't trust you with my daughter. Your affiliation with Itachi Uchiha disgusts me." Naruto looked down at the ground. "I know…"

"But," Hiashi turned to look at Naruto, "you have become a strong ninja. Although a genin, you have the discipline of a jounin, and I respect that." Naruto looked up to meet Hiashi's eyes. They were no longer cold and unmoving. There was a hint of warmth coming from them. "Thank you Mr. Hyuuga. I know that it will be awhile before anyone in the village trusts me again, but even after the incident, my team has remained on my side. Hinata included."

Hiashi nodded. "Yes, she has. Naruto, promise me one thing." Naruto nodded. "Sure, what is it?" Hiashi became serious as he stared directly at Naruto. "I know I can't keep my daughter from seeing you, but I want you to promise me that you will never put her in harm's way." Naruto smiled. "You can count on it. I won't let anyone touch her."

Hiashi's face softened. "You are a good kid Naruto, as far as I know. Good luck with your next match." Naruto smiled. "With all due respect sir, I would like to see Hinata before my match starts." Hiashi nodded. "Of course, she is with Kurenai somewhere." Naruto thanked him and left.

Naruto hurried and finally met up with Hinata and Kurenai. They were talking to Shino. "Naruto, glad to see you are still alive." Shino said as he shifted everyone's attention to Naruto. Naruto smiled. "Yeah, they let me stay in but just barely. By the way Hinata, I just talked to your father." Hinata froze. "What did he say?" Naruto smiled, "Well, he complimented me on my jutsu and said some other things. He mainly just wanted to make sure he knew my intentions."

Hinata looked confused and Kurenai giggled. "Well, good luck Naruto. I've got to meet up with the other jounins." Kurenai smiled and was gone in a flash. "How does she do that?" Asked Naruto. "Hinata and Shino shrugged and they all talked for a bit.

"I hope you do well Naruto. Sasuke is no push over. Watch for his lightning." Shino turned around and walked away. Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her to where they would not be heard. "What's wrong Naruto?" Naruto frowned. "I wanted to make sure I tell you something before my fight." Hinata watched and waited. "Sasuke is strong, and even with all of my training, I might not be able to beat him." Hinata protested, "But Naruto! You are so much stronger and faster than him!"

Naruto shook his head. "No, he matches my speed and more than likely has more strength." Hinata looked confused. "But he barely beat Gaara and—" Naruto interuppted her. "Sasuke was playing with him. He was only using part of his strength. I could tell he was holding back." Hinata frowned. "So what are you saying?"

Naruto sighed. "The Nine-Tails might take over. Sasuke can…will kill me if he wins. I garuntee he is still pissed at me for all of that time in the academy." Hinata hugged him tightly. "Naruto please don't say that!" Naruto hugged her back. "If **IT** gets out, I won't be myself. I'll try to keep it caged, but I can't promise that I can hold it."

Hinata started to cry. Naruto hugged her tighter. "Hey, don't cry. I'm not one hundred percent sure that he is as strong as I think. I just wanted to let you know what could happen." She sniffed and pulled back. "I know Naruto. Please be careful." Naruto smiled and hugged her again. "I will."

They walked to the entrance and seperated. Hinata went to her seat and Naruto walked to the spectator box. He decided to place a precautionary seal on himself. He then walked out into the areana. Sasuke was already there, waiting. As soon as Naruto was in place, the proctor looked at both of them. First at Sasuke, then at Naruto. The proctor sighed and looked up at the stands. "This is the final fight and will decide the winner of the chuunin exams. The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke Uchiha verses the Fuuinjutsu user trained by Itachi Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki." The crowd cheered loudly and the proctor signaled for the fight to begin.

xXxXxXxXxXx Break by Three Days Grace xXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke and Naruto charged at eachother. _"First, a test of power."_ Naruto thought as he threw a punch. Surprisingly, Sasuke matched his punch and their fists connected. The impact created a shockwave that rippled through the stands. Both of them kept at it. Their fists connecting on every hit, each time producing a shockwave. They started to punch faster. Soon, their fists were not even visable and there was a constant barrage of shockwaves.

Naruto was the first to back up. He took a breather and Sasuke did the same. _"Now, a test of speed."_ Naruto was a blur as he appeared in front of Sasuke. He smirked as he lashed out with his right leg. Sasuke jumped back and ran towards Naruto. They exchanged a few punches and kicks then backed off. They ran at eachother at the same time, moving so fast that everyone saw only a blur as their fists met once again. "You are extremely annoying Naruto." Sasuke said as he pushed his fist forward. Naruto matched his strength in this tug-of-war and smirked. "We are evenly matched." Sasuke laughed. "Not even close brat."

They both jumped back and Sasuke made some handsigns. **"Lighting Style: Lightning Senbon"** Thousands of electrically charged needles flew at Naruto. Naruto did his best to dodge but a few connected and sent a jolt through his body. "Argh, what was that?" Sasuke stared at him. "My senbon are much more intricate than simple charged needles. They send out electrical signals that cause numbness in the area they hit." Naruto slowed his breathing. "Well, that is a cool trick. But it will take more than that to beat me." Naruto made a handsign. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu."**Twenty clones appeared in a puff of smoke. They all charged at Sasuke who was less than impressed.

He dodged each one effortlessly, killing them in the process. He then ran at the real Naruto with a giant white blade. **"Lightning Style: Senbon Sword."**The blade pierced Naruto. Before Sasuke could react, another Naruto was behind him. Sasuke looked unamused. "What is thi—" But Sasuke was slammed into the ground by Naruto's fist. The Naruto that was hit by the sword disappeared is a puff of smoke. "I'm not stupid. I knew that clones would be too easy for you so just sat back and waited for you to let your guard down." While he was saying this Naruto was making handsigns. Two clones were holding Sasuke down. Naruto touched Sasuke's arm. **"Single Prong Seal."**

A seal mark appeared on Sasuke's arm where Naruto had touched but before he could pull away, Sasuke's body was engulfed in lighting. The two clones were destroyed and Naruto was shocked and was thrown back by the charge. Sasuke stood up and laughed. "Did you really think that one little seal could stop my chakra flow?" Naruto stood up and held his arm. It was numb. "A puny little jutsu like that will never beat me." Sasuke ran at Naruto and punched him in the gut. Naruto flew back and hit the tree. Sasuke stood back and watched as Naruto struggled to stand up. Naruto was determined not to lose. "Naruto, you know you can't win. So why even try?"

Naruto inhaled and exhaled deeply a few times to catch his breath. "Because I never give up." Sasuke laughed and started to walk towards Naruto. Naruto tried to hit Sasuke but was easily blocked and Sasuke held him against the tree. "It's time to die, Naruto." A white blade emerged from Sasuke's opposite hand. Naruto closed his eyes. He heard Hinata scream and instantly opened his eyes. Just when Sasuke stabbed with the blade, Naruto disappeared. "What!" Sasuke said as he withdrew the lightning blade.

He turned around to see Naruto, unscathed, staring him down. "But how?" Sasuke screamed. Naruto laughed. "You should really be more careful Sasuke. You didn't pay attention to how many clones I created. If you were using your sharingan you would have known that I made extra clones both times." Sasuke shook with anger and activated his sharingan. _"Finally, a test of jutsu."_ Sasuke ran at Naruto, eyes ablaze and threw several shuriken. Naruto dodged them effortlessly. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu."**Two clones appeared by Naruto. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** A huge fireball flew towards Naruto. He and his clones dodged the fireball but Sasuke was ready for them. He quickly took out the two clones and threw a flying kick at Naruto. Naruto twisted his body out of the way while making handsigns and time seemed to slow down as he set two fingers on Sasuke's leg. **"Two Pronged Seal."**Sasuke felt a pain in his leg as he fell to the ground.

Naruto jumped back and created twenty more clones. "Sasuke, it is time to end this." Sasuke stared at him with red eyes full of anger and hate. The clones formed a circle around Sasuke and each one jumped off of another. Leaving ten clones on the ground and ten high in the air. Each of them threw a single shuriken. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu: Barrage of One Thousand Steel!"**Twenty shuriken multiplied into four hundred shuriken in the blink of an eye. Sasuke acted fast. **"Fire Style: Flame Ring!"**A small ring of fire erupted from the earth around him to block the shuriken. He then tried to dodge as many falling shuriken as he could but he was too slow. The shuriken impaled him and he fell to the ground.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto huffed and bent over. He had used a lot of chakra. When he looked up, Hinata was standing in front of him. She smiled and came towards him to give him a hug. "Ahhhhhhh!" Hinata screamed in pain as a white blade pierced her chest. She fell to the ground and Naruto stood in disbelief. "Hinata!" He tried to move but he couldn't. His feet were stuck in mud. He looked up and saw Sasuke standing there, over Hinata's crumpled body. "I win, Naruto." Naruto's eyes filled with tears as he cried in rage. "SASUKE!" An orange substance started to leak from his body. Naruto grew fangs and bent down on all fours.

The chakra broke the image. Hinata was no longer on the ground and Sasuke was farther away from him, watching. Sasuke flinched. "He broke my genjutsu. Cursed beast." Sasuke still had a seal on his arm but not on his leg. When Naruto had dodged his flying kick, he trapped him in his jutsu. "You are going to be tough to take down."

The stadium shook and Sasuke looked around. He saw a figure approaching the Hokage and Kazekage. _"Who is that? Why is no one stopping him_?" He looked to the spectators. They all looked asleep. _"They are all under a genjutsu. What irony."_ He turned back to look at Naruto and prepared for the worst.

**Chuunin Areana (Kage Box)**

A figure appeared in front of the Third Hokage. "It's good to see you again, Sensei." The Third looked up at the figure. "Orochimaru…"

**Chuunin Areana (Spectator Box)**

Hinata was one of the first to break the genjutsu. Immediately she noticed Naruto. An orange substance that she had never seen before was seeping from his body. Her eyes widened in fear. "What are you, Naruto?

**Hope you all liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long for me to get back on this but I promise to work more. I almost have this entire ark outlined so stay tuned for more. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	20. Leaf and Snake

**Sorry to keep you all waiting. It is time to see what happens with these new developments. I've got my outline next to me and all night to type. So here we go!**

**Chunnin Areana**

Naruto glared at Sasuke. The orange chakra was still flowing from his body and it was starting to encase his skin in a red coating. Naruto roared which sent shockwaves out all around him. "Saaaaasuukeee!" Naruto growled as his fists grew orange claws and dug into the ground. Sasuke started to sweat and shake. "Naruto, even in this form," Sasuke said in a shaky voice, "I will beat you."

xXxXxXxXxXx The Animal by Disturbed xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto shot at Sasuke. Sasuke barely had any time to react when Naruto punched him in the gut. Sasuke went flying into the wall of the areana. Before he even had time to recover, Naruto was there, slashing his orange claws into the wall where Sasuke was. Naruto grabbed Sasuke and threw him up into the air. Naruto slashed the air and it formed a sharp blast which headed straight for Sasuke. This time, however, Sasuke was able to recover and dodged the wave. Naruto screamed and dashed at Sasuke in the air. Sasuke spun and kicked Naruto in the face, sending Naruto away.

Sasuke landed and cringed when his leg hit the ground. He looked down at it to notice that his ankle was severely bruised where he had kicked Naruto. _"My ankle…" _He looked at Naruto and noticed that there wasn't a mark from his kick. _"Damn him. How do I get past that chakra?"_ Sasuke stood up but his ankle prevented him from standing straight. He made a few handsigns. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** A huge fireball shot at Naruto. Naruto screamed and the fire dissapated. Naruto then ran at Sasuke and slashed his chest. Sasuke doubled over and Naruto punched him in the face. He flew into the air and Naruto followed him. Naruto slashed at Sasuke a few more times and then slammed him into the ground. Sasuke hit the ground hard and the ground sunk under him. He opened his eyes to see what once was Naruto standing over him.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke saw Naruto start to tremble. Naruto held his face and started to scream. "Arrrrggggg! Let go!" The orange chakra started to seep back into Naruto's body. Naruto shook his head and he fell to his knees. "Get out of my heeaaad!" The chakra was finally absorbed back into his body and Naruto let out a huge sigh.

Just then the proctor stepped in to stop the fight. "Stop this for now, we have bigger problems." He said as he pointed to the stands.

**Chuunin Areana (Kage Box)**

"Orochimaru," the Third said as he stared at his old apprentice, "to what do I owe this…..pleasure?" Orochimaru smiled back and let his tongue fall out of his mouth, then pulled it back in. "I thought I would visit my old village and return the favor." The Third looked confused but Orochimaru went on. "You see old man, this village is the bane of my existance. I feel…like it is my duty to destroy it!"

The Third showed no emotion, he just sat and listened. "However, you are in my way. So I will deal with you first." Orochimaru struck at the Third but the Third dodged and kicked at Orochimaru's stomach. Orochimaru laughed as he pushed aside the kick. "Fine, we will do this the hard way."

Orochimaru jumped back and made a long string of handsigns. Then he bit his thumb and ran it along a snake tattoo on his arm. **"Beast Summoning: Three-Headed Snake!" **A giant snake appeared at the front gate of the village. It tore through the gate and destroyed several of the buildings. The Third quickly stood up as Orochimaru smirked. "How do you like that Sensei?"

**Chuunin Areana (Spectator Box)**

Hinata looked around at the chaos. Dozens of unfamiliar ninja were jumping over the walls of the Hidden Leaf Village. She looked around and saw that her father had already undone the genjutsu. "Hinata! Wake the others, I will hold them off." He said as he pelted the guy behind him with chakra infused blows. Hinata nodded and woke Shino.

"Huh, what's going on?" Hinata shook him. "There's no time Shino, the village is being invaded!" Shino instantly stood up and almost knocked Hinata over. "WHAT!" He looked around and saw it. Mysterious ninja were swarming the stands. The leaf ninja that were awake were barely enough to hold off the attackers. "Come on we have to wake everyone."

Hinata ran to find Kurenai while Shino woke a few ninja that he knew were a higher rank. When Hinata finally found Kurenai, she was already awake and fighting off some ninja. Hinata saw someone sneaking up on Kurenai and she quickly threw a few shuriken. The ninja dodged and came straight for Hinata. Hinata was not caught off guard and she threw a few chakra infused blows at the ninja who then collapsed on the ground.

"Sensei!" Hinata said as she ran towards Kurenai. "Hinata, I'm glad you are safe. Where is Shino?" Hinata was panting. "He is on the other side waking as many ninja as he can." Kurenai nodded. "That won't be necessary." Hinata looked confused as saw Kurenai make a string of handsigns. **"Hidden Technique: Mass Release!"** In one move, half of the spectator box was released from the genjutsu.

Hinata looked at Kurenai in awe. "We had better hurry." Kurenai said. "Not everyone here can fight, we must protect them." Hinata nodded and they ran to confront the enemy ninja.

**Chuunin Areana**

Naruto, Sasuke, and the proctor looked into the stands. It was a disaster. Several battles were going on in the stands. Naruto looked around. "I can't see Hinata." Sasuke grew impatient. "Tch! There is more going on here Naruto. The Hokage is under attack." Naruto's eyes grew wide as he saw a strange ninja confronting the Third. "We have to get to him!" He started to run but the proctor stopped him. "No Naruto. I'll go. If he is brave enough to confront the Hokage in front of all of these people, he must be strong."

Naruto wanted to argue but before he could, the proctor dashed up to the Hokage. Naruto turned to Sasuke to see him staring in awe. "Naruto…There are so many of them." Naruto punched Sasuke in the shoulder. "Snap out of it Sasuke. You have to help me get to the others." Sasuke nodded. "Sure."

**Chuunin Areana (Kage Box)**

The Third charged Orochimaru, but Orochimaru kept dodging backwards. "You just won't hold still will you?" The Third said as he continued to chase him. He and Orochimaru got farther and farther away until suddenly, the Third stopped. "Eh? What's wrong oh mighty Hokage?" The Third looked back at the chuunin areana. "There are more important things to do than chase you." He turned around and Orochimaru grew angry. "Activate the barrier!"

Within seconds, four ninja clad in white robes stood at the four corners of the roof. They all made handsigns and struck the ground saying in unison, **"Four-Part Barrier!" **Pillars of purple chakra erupted from each of the ninja's feet. The pillars formed massive walls that encased the roof, sealing Orochimaru and the Third inside. "Now, it's just you…and me."

**Chuunin Areana (Spectator Box)**

Hinata struck the ninja in front of her and he collapsed to the ground. She then spun around and hit another one in two places, crippling him. She heard another one coming from her side but before she could react, Kurenai had already sent him flying with a killer punch to the gut. "Thanks Kurenai-Sensei." Kurenai smirked. "Don't thank me yet."

A dozen ninja surrounded the two kunoichi. They backed up against eachother and prepared to fight. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" **Four ninja were impaled by the huge flame as it sizzled past the girls. "What the—". **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu."** The remaining ninja grunted in pain and fell to the ground. Hinata saw hundreds of shuriken in their backs. But something else more interesting caught her attention. "Naruto!"

Naruto smiled and Hinata ran to him. She hugged him so hard that he could barely breath. "I- missed you too Hinata." Naruto said with the little breath he had left. Hinata then let him go and kissed him. Naruto blushed when they were interrupted by Sasuke. "We aren't out of this yet." He said as more ninja started heading their way.

"You three get out of the areana." They all looked at Kurenai with confused looks. "What, why Kurenai-Sensei?" Naruto said. "Just do it, I can handle these guys." Naruto looked frustrated but Hinata grabbed his arm and the three of them left.

They ran down the flights of stairs and eventually reached the bottom. Several people were trying to get through the crowded doors and they kept getting stuck. "Tch, stupid people." Said Sasuke as he made a few handsigns. Naruto stopped him before he could use a fireball. "No Sasuke, you will hurt the civilians." Sasuke shrugged. "I don't care."

Hinata stepped forward and ran chakra to her palms. "Everyone stand back!" Hinata said as loud as she could. Once the doorway was clear she struck the edges of the passage, making it bigger. The people then rushed through. "Nice job Hinata." Naruto said. She smiled and they went through the passage.

**Hidden Leaf Village**

The three of them ran through the streets, helping people when they could. "Where are we going exactly?" Hinata asked. Naruto pointed at the three-headed snake. "We are going to destroy that snake." Hinata's eyes got huge. "What? We can't possibly…It's too big." Naruto smiled. "We will be fine. I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Just then, Sasuke stumbled and fell to the ground. "Arrgh!" Naruto and Hinata looked back to see Sasuke laying in pain. "My ankle is killing me." Naruto looked worried. "He's in no shape to take on the snake." Hinata stepped close to Sasuke and examined his leg. "It's ok. It's not that bad, I can take care of it."

Naruto was as surprised as Sasuke was when Hinata's hands started to emit green chakra. She touched Sasuke's ankle and he cringed in pain, but after a few seconds Hinata said, "Ok, it should be better now." Sasuke got up and sure enough, his ankle didn't hurt at all. "Thank you." Sasuke gave her a short nod and Hinata accepted it. They turned toward the snake and started off again.

The three-headed snake was thrashing around, destroying everything in sight. "We have to stop it." Hinata said. "I know," said Naruto, "maybe this will work." Naruto made several shadow clones and they all jumped into the air. They threw shuriken and formed handsigns, but before they could finish, the snake swung its tail and destroyed all of the clones. Naruto fell to the ground but somehow managed to land on his feet.

"Arg, so much for that." Naruto gritted his teeth. _"How can we beat this thing?"_ Sasuke stepped forward. "Naruto." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke who had a smile on his face. "Your three-pronged seal can stop a jinchuuriki transformation right?" Naruto nodded. "What do you think it will do to a summoned snake?" Naruto looked confused. "I don't know. But it's worth a try."

xXxXxXxXxXx Song of the Sage by Amorphis xXxXxXxXxXx

Sasuke smirked. "Alright, if you don't mind, Hinata and I will distract it. You just nail that seal on its middle head." Naruto and Hinata exchanged looks. Hinata smiled and so did he. "Alright. Let's go!" Sasuke nodded and he jumped onto the nearest house. He formed a few handsigns. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" **A massive fireball flew towards the serpent, striking its right head. The serpent seemed slightly irritated as it turned its attention towards Sasuke.

Sasuke dodged as one snake head lunged towards him, destroying the house. Hinata jumped over to Sasuke. "Please try to minimize collateral damage Sasuke." Sasuke smirked. "Whatever." They both dodged when the snake lunged again, destroying the house they were on. Hinata jumped on a few houses until she could reach one of the serpent's heads. She nodded towards Sasuke and he understood. Sasuke shot a series of fireballs at the snake, getting its attention. When the snake turned, Hinata leaped and chakra coursed through her palms. **"Engaging Strike!"** She hit one of the snake heads directly which cause it to slump over.

"Naruto, now!" Naruto nodded and ran under the snake, dodging its tail and heads. He then jumped high towards the middle snake's head. **"Three Pronged Seal: Suppression!"** A much larger seal appeared on the snake's middle head. The middle head slumped over which caused the rest of it to fall to the ground.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

The three ninja surrounded the final head. They looked at with disgust. It was slimey from exhaustion. Suddenly, a figure appeared on the living head. "Poor thing, it can't even defend itself. Oh well, I have no use for you now." The figure struck the beast's last head and it dissappeared.

The three ninja looked in shock as the figure landed on the ground. He looked up at them and smiled. "Hello children. Hello Sasuke." Sasuke flinched when he heard his name. "My name is Orochimaru, an outcast of the Hidden Leaf Village." He turned to Sasuke. "Sasuke, you don't need this pathetic village. Come with me and I will make you strong." Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, and he was more relaxed than a minute ago.

"Hehehe, sorry. I already have someone that will make me strong." Orochimaru looked intrigued. "Oh? And who might that be?" Sasuke smirked. "Fuck off." Orochimaru drew back. "Oh my, you have a mouth don't you? No matter. I'll take you by force if I have to."

The three ninja readied themselves for Orochimaru's attack. His lower body mutated into a serpent-like tail and he slithered towards them with intense speed. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."** A fireball flew towards Orochimaru with great speed and he barely managed to avoid it. _"I recognize that voice."_ Naruto thought.

He turned to look at Sasuke but he was just as confused as Naruto. _"If it wasn't him, then—"_ A familiar figure appeared between the three genin and Orochimaru. Within an instant Naruto knew who it was. "Itachi-Sensei!" Itachi looked back over his shoulder and smiled. Then he looked towards Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, I'm stopping you here. You leave my brother and this village alone."

xXxXxXxXxXx Bully by Shinedown xXxXxXxXxXx

Orochimaru smiled. "Awww, does Itachi love his baby brother?" Itachi remained expressionless and got ready to fight. "Naruto." Naruto walked forward to stand next to Itachi. "I know Sensei." Naruto and Itachi stood ready while they waited for Orochimaru to make his move. Itachi spoke without turning his head. "Sasuke, Hinata, we will handle this." Without any more words Itachi signaled to Naruto and he made a few clones. "This will be a long fight, so don't waste any chakra." Naruto nodded and ran towards Orochimaru. He sighed and blocked each clone with ease. He then destroyed each clone with one hit.

Itachi took out a kunai and ran towards Orochimaru. He swung it precisely and Orochimaru was barely able to dodge it. Orochimaru was then hit in the back of the head hard. He went flying as Naruto landed on his feet. Naruto and Itachi looked at eachother, then nodded. Naruto made a few more shadow clones and they all took out shuriken. Naruto threw them into the air and made a few handsigns. At the same time, Itachi made a few clones and they all made handsigns. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu: Barrage of One Thousand Steel!" **All of the shuriken multiplied and rained down towards Orochimaru. **"Fire Style: Triple Fireball Jutsu."** Itachi and his clones shot fireballs at Orochimaru in sync with the shuriken.

Orochimaru was trapped. But instead of moving, he just stood there. _"What is he doing?"_ Naruto thought. The shuriken dug into Orochimaru and the fireballs engulfed him simultaneously. Once the smoke cleared however, he was gone.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

"It was just a shadow clone." Itachi said in a dissappointed voice. Naruto shook his head. "Dammit." Sasuke stepped forward and Itachi turned around. Their eyes met for a brief moment, then Sasuke looked away. Naruto sighed and walked over to Hinata. He gave her a big bear hug and closed his eyes as he exhaled. When he let go, Hinata asked, "Whats wrong?" Naruto shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing, I'm just glad you are ok." Hinata smiled back but then Naruto remembered something. "Oh no." Naruto turned to Itachi but Itachi already understood. At the same time, they all looked to where the battle between the real Orochimaru and the Third Hokage was already taking place.

**That's all I got for this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW** **! I love seeing that my story has new reviews. Don't be afraid to message me if you don't understand something and I hope you are all listening to the songs during the fight scenes.**


	21. Seat of Power

**Hey avid readers! It's time for another update. Itachi is going to play a major role in this chapter so you won't see much of Sasuke and Hinata. A lot of fateful decisions are made, so pay close attention. Enjoy!**

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Almost instantly, the four of them started to run towards the battle. Itachi took the lead, followed by Hinata and Naruto. Sasuke lagged behind. _"What am I doing? Why should I care what happens to the Hokage?" _Sasuke stopped and Naruto turned around to look at him. "Sasuke, what are you doing come on!"

Sasuke just stood there, unmoving. Itachi and Hinata stopped also to see what was happening. "Why should I come? Who cares if the Hokage dies?" Hinata gasped and Itachi frowned. Naruto grew angry. "What do you mean 'who cares?' He's the Hokage, we have to help him!" Sasuke snarled. "Tch! You wouldn't understand Naruto."

Itachi stepped toward Sasuke. "Sasuke, this is your village. It is your duty to protect it." Sasuke shook his head violently. "Shut up!" Sasuke stared at his older brother. "Who are you to talk about duty?! You killed our entire clan! You killed father and mother!" Tears came to Sasuke's eyes. "If…if it weren't for you they would still be alive!"

Itachi sighed and came closer to Sasuke. "Sasuke, listen to me. There is much more to this than you think. I was performing my duty. It brought me no pride, nor smile to my face when I did what I did." Sasuke stood his ground, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Why did you do it? Why didn't you explain yourself?"

Itachi frowned. "Sasuke, I promise I will explain to you later. But right now is not the time. You have a choice to make. Will you come with us to assist the Hokage, or will you turn from your village and take the coward's way out?"

Sasuke hesitated. Then he looked up to see Naruto. For the first time, he saw Naruto as an ally, instead of an enemy. "Alright, I'll come with you." He then turned to Itachi. "But you must tell me what happened afterwards." Itachi nodded in agreement. Naruto then spoke up. "Come on, we have to hurry." They all nodded and headed off to the battle.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Rooftop)**

The Third and Orochimaru were locked in a heated battle. The roof was littered with shuriken and small swords. Orochimaru had a long sleek blade in his hand while The Third had a monkey staff. "Orochimaru, we do not have to do this. Submit so that you can be dealt with in an honerable fashion." Orochimaru laughed. "An 'honerable fashion'? Surrender is never honerable." The Third sighed and readied his weapon. "Very well."

**Chuunin Areana (Spectator Box)**

Kurenai slashed at another ninja, making him crumble to the ground. She sighed. _"How many more of them are there?"_ Behind her a ninja had his kunai out. "Time to die." He said lightly under his breath. He snuck up to her and raised his hand. **"Dynamic Entry!" **A swift kick to the face sent the ninja spiraling into a wall. Kurenai turned around to see a familiar face.

"Guy! It's about time you show up." The leaf jounin Might Guy smiled. "Of course! No battle is great without the legendary Might Guy!" Kurenai smiled. Within seconds the other jounin instructors came to help. Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Saruobi joined and the four of them formed a back-to-back circle. "Just like old times right guys?" Said Asuma. Kurenai smirked. "Yeah, like when we were kids." Guy laughed while the enemy ninja surrounded them. Kakashi spoke up. "Alright, we have to get through these few ninja so we can get to the Hokage. That is our primary mission." They all nodded as the enemy ninja closed in.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Rooftop)**

Naruto and Itachi were the first to arrive. Itachi looked up and down the barrier. "Naruto, this is a simple barrier, but it is strong." Naruto nodded in agreement. "It looks like it was based on four points. Do you think it was created by four different people?" Itachi nodded. "Yes, this barrier requires too much chakra for one person to make."

Hinata and Sasuke arrived and stared in awe at the glowing purple wall. "What is that?" Sasuke asked. Naruto continued to study the barrier. "It is a four-point barrier. We think it took four separate people to erect it." Itachi added, "It is also made to prevent us from seeing what is going on inside. My sharingan cannot see anything past this barrier.

"**Byakugan!"** Hinata stared at the barrier and scanned it for openings. "I can't see through it either." Naruto frowned. "What now Itachi-sensei?" Hinata cringed a little. She had never heard Naruto actually call Itachi his sensei. "Even though it is strong, the barrier can still be broken if we find a weak point." Itachi turned to look at Hinata.

"Can you scan the wall of the barrier and isolate any points that look weaker Hinata?" Hinata nodded. "I'll try." She looked over the outside of the wall, but was having no luck. "I don't see anything that looks like a distortion in the chakra." Suddenly, Hinata felt something touch her hand. She looked over and saw that it was Naruto.

He grabbed her hand. "Hinata, use some of my chakra to intensify your vision." After saying it, Naruto blushed and so did Hinata. "But Naruto, I've never done that before. I don't even know if it will work." Naruto closed his eyes and let his chakra flow into his hand. "Just trust me," Naruto said with a smile. Hinata looked at the wall again. "There, near the middle of this section. It looks slightly weaker." Itachi nodded and looked to where Hinata was pointing.

"Alright Naruto. This will require both of us. I'm afraid I don't have enough chakra to break a hole in the wall." Naruto nodded and, reluctantly, let go of Hinata's hand. Itachi showed Naruto the handsigns required while Hinata and Sasuke watched. After three practice tries, they were ready.

Naruto looked at Itachi and nodded. They started forming the handsigns at an incredibly fast speed. Suddenly, a few familiar faces appeared. "Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata said as Kurenai and her companions arrived. "Hinata," Kurenai smiled. "What is going on?" Hinata tried to explain. "Naruto and Itachi are going to try to break the barrier."

"What!?" Said the jounin in unison. Kakashi looked surprised for the first time. "How do they think they are going to do that?" Naruto smirked. "Just watch." The jutsu was finally ready. Itachi and Naruto looked at eachother and simultaneously leaped into the air. They both threw out their hand and touched the barrier. **"Four Pronged Seal: Shatter!"** A human sized hole was blown into the barrier.

All of the others stared in awe. Naruto landed and summoned a shadow clone. The clone then jumped up and held the hole open. "That was incredible." Kurenai said as she attempted to keep her jaw from droping. Naruto smiled and looked up to his clone. "What do you see?" His clone replied, "It looks like Orochimaru and The Third are in a heated battle. There are weapons everywhere. They are in a deadlock, we have to help!" Naruto nodded.

"Stop right there." Both Itachi and Naruto recognized that voice. They turned to see their worst nightmare. The ninja stood ready to fight, and was facing Itachi. "So, you finally showed up, Yugao." Yugao said nothing and stood very still, ready to pounce as soon as Itachi let his guard down. Naruto knew better and smirked. _"Itachi never lets his guard down."_

Everybody looked at Yugao, then back to Itachi. Itachi stood motionless. "Yugao, you must excuse me. The Hokage needs me." He jumped for the hole but was cut off when Yugao threw several shuriken. Itachi dodged but the shuriken hit Naruto's clone, causing it to vanish. Naruto looked up at the hole. It wasn't changing, but he knew that it would close soon.

"You aren't getting anywhere near the Hokage, traitor." By this time, several more ANBU Black Ops members were appearing all around the barrier. They all had their weapons ready and aimed at Itachi. One of them spoke to Yugao. "What are you doing?" She scoffed at him. "I'm fulfilling my duty. Itachi is a traitor to the Leaf." Another ANBU spoke up. "Aren't there more important things at hand? Like saving the Hokage."

Yugao snorted. "This traitor wants to be the one to save him." Hinata and Sasuke were lost. They had no idea why it was such a big deal that Itachi wanted to help. Naruto stepped forward. "Let him help. He wants the best for the village." Yugao laughed at Naruto. "Silly boy. You have no idea what you have gotten into."

Instead of looking away, Naruto looked directly at Yugao. "I don't care what rank you are or how strong you are. All Itachi-sensei wants to do is help. Don't you have a code that says you have to let someone help if they really want to?" Yugao laughed even harder. "That's ridiculous! The Hokage depends strictly upon the safety that WE provide him. We don't have to let anyone help, for any reason."

Itachi looked around at the dozens of ANBU members surrounding them. He then looked at Yugao. "Fine. If you insist on preventing me from assisting, then I shall leave." Itachi jumped over all of them to the next rooftop. "I don't think so." Yugao said as she threw a shuriken at him. It flew straight into Itachi and he collapsed onto the roof.

"Brother!" Sasuke held his arm out towards his older brother, but Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke looked at Naruto who was smiling and pointing up. Sasuke looked up and it was Itachi. Sitting in the hole of the barrier. All of the ANBU looked towards the hole and saw Itachi slip through to the other side. "Get him!" Yugao said as they all jumped for the hole.

As if it were planned, the barrier was reformed and the hole sealed just as Yugao stuck her blade in it. The barrier then broke her sword in half and she fell to the ground. Naruto smirked as Yugao looked up to him. "Sometimes it pays off to be a distraction."

**Inside the Barrier**

Itachi landed safely inside and saw the battle. Orochimaru slashed at The Third's arm and cut a shallow gash in it. The Hokage then jumped back and then forward, slamming his pole into the ground. The shockwave sent Orochimaru stumbling back, but he did not fall. The Hokage then looked over to see Itachi, who was already at his side. "Ah, Itachi it is good to see you again." Itachi nodded in agreement. "A pleasure as always my Lord."

The Third smiled. "Please no formalities. We have known eachother for quite some time Itachi." Itachi nodded and looked at Orochimaru. "I had no doubt that you could hold him off." The Third looked at him also. "Unfortunately, all I could do was hold him off. He has gotten stronger since I last saw him." Itachi took note and they waited for Orochimaru.

Orochimaru smiled but was panting heavily. "The loyal dog always returns to his master." Orochimaru laughed. "How cute. Now you shall both die together!"

xXxXxXxXxXx My Enemy by Hacride xXxXxXxXxXx

Orochimaru rushed them courageously. He lunged toward Itachi and then spun around to attack the Third. Itachi blocked Orochimaru's foot and the Third used his arm to block Orochimaru's fist. "Very good, but dodge this!" Orochimaru's limbs turned into snakes that lashed out at the two ninja. They both jumped back but one bit the Third on his arm. He shook it off but not before the venom got inside.

Already his arm was starting to go numb. He looked to Itachi. Itachi looked back and immediately understood. Orochimaru then rushed the Hokage. Itachi side-stepped to block. He held Orochimaru by his shoulder and forearm. He then twisted his body so that Orochimaru also twisted and landed on the ground. He pinned Orochimaru to the ground with kunai and leaped into the air. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."** A massive flame shot towards Orochimaru, but he was too fast. The flame hit and Orochimaru was already in the air. He kicked Itachi hard in the stomach.

Itachi was hit so hard that he flew straight into the barrier that was still around them. He landed and struggled to get up. The Hokage stared at Orochimaru. His entire arm was numb and it was spreading to his shoulder. If it got to his heart, he would die. _"We can't let this fight drag on."_ The Third jumped over to Itachi and helped him up. "Itachi, my arm is numb. I'm afraid I won't be much help." Itachi nodded and glanced down at the Third's arm. He did his best not to show on his face what he saw. _"His arm isn't numb, it's dead."_

Itachi looked up to Orochimaru who smiled at them mockingly. He was playing with them. Itachi took a breath and developed a plan. He made a few handsigns and placed a hand on the Third's dead arm. **"Single Prong Seal: Lock."** A sealing ring appeared around the Third's shoulder. "That should stop it from spreading, for now." Thie Third acknowledged what he said. Itachi stared at Orochimaru. "It is time for this to end."

Itachi rushed at Orochimaru. He brought up his fist to punch Orochimaru in the face, but Orochimaru blocked and brought his foot up to kick. Instead of blocking, Itachi stared directly into Orochimaru's eyes. **"Tsukuyomi."**

**Tsukuyomi Realm**

Orochimaru looked around at the vast emptiness. Itachi then appeared in front of him, his eyes blood red. "Orochimaru, you have lost. Give in before I have to kill you." Orochimaru just smirked and looked at Itachi. "It is you who have lost." Itachi just shook his head. Instantly Orochimaru was chained to a pole and surrounded by clones of Itachi. Each of them were holding a sword. "This is MY realm. I control everything here. I even control how you feel."

Orochimaru was suddenly crying. Through his tears, Orochimaru managed to talk. "Fool. Your cheap tricks won't work on me." Itachi smiled. "Funny, because these 'cheap tricks' are going to kill you." All of Itachi's clones stabbed Orochimaru. They stabbed him in a rhythm so that everytime one sword left his body, another entered at the same time. After ten minutes of this Orochimaru screamed. "ENOUGH! I give up just stop the PAIN!"

Itachi smiled and his clones dissappeared. Orochimaru fell to the ground and coughed up blood. Itachi walked up to him and stood there, putting Orochimaru in his shadow. In one fluid motion, Orochimaru coughed up a sword and stabbed Itachi in the heart. Itachi gasped and fell to his knees. "I told you that your tricks won't work on me." Itachi looked up. Blood was coming from his mouth as he smiled. "They just did."

**Inside the Barrier**

Orochimaru escaped the jutsu and struck Itachi with his sword. The sword went all the way through Itachi. But Itachi looked at Orochimaru and walked up the sword towards him. Orochimaru started to panic but before he could even flinch. **"Fire Style: Clone Explosion."** Orochimaru was engulfed in flame and the heat was so intense that the sound ninja four felt it on the outside of the barrier, causing it to fall apart.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

When the smoke cleared, every ninja in the village had the three of them surrounded. The ANBU were divided into two teams, one for Itachi and the other for Orochimaru. Naruto rushed in to Itachi's side, along with Hinata. The three of them looked at the crisped body of Orochimaru. The smell of burnt flesh was heavy and several of the surrounding ninja gagged.

A few members of the ANBU Black Ops walked towards Orochimaru cautiously. They examined the body. "He is burnt all the way through," one of them said, "he is dead to the fullest extent." Everybody turned to look at Itachi. Yugao then spoke up. "Itachi, the death of Orochimaru does not grant you freedom."

"The hell it doesn't!" The Third walked over to stand by Itachi. "This man did what you other members of the ANBU could not. He saved my life." Yugao got angry and stepped forward. "Forgive me Lord Hokage, but he should not be forgiven his crimes." The Third smiled. "You are forgiven, and so is Itachi."

**Hope you guys liked this chapter. It actually took me awhile to write. Especially the fight between Orochimaru and Itachi. Hang around to see what happens next. I'll get started on the next chapter soon.**


	22. Goodbye?

**Alright everyone, this is it. The moment of truth. Will Itachi be allowed to stay? Or will he be hunted down for his crimes? Many twists in this chapter so read carefully. Enjoy!**

**Hidden Leaf Village (Rooftop)**

Itachi stood there, speechless. Everyone stared at him. One of the ANBU stepped forward. "Lord Hokage, are you sure that it is wise to—" The Third snapped. "Are you questioning my judgement?" The ninja stumbled over his words. "No, no of course not." The ninja backed away to join the other ANBU members.

Yugao was furious and almost lost her cool. Kakashi was confused as well and walked toward the Third. "Perhaps it would be better if you gave Itachi a probation period. That would give the rest of the village time to adjust to him." The Hokage sighed. "…Fine, yes that would be a good idea. I don't want to lose the trust of my own village." The Third turned around, but before he could take a step, he fell to his knees and grabbed his arm.

"Lord Hokage!" A medical ninja approached him to check his arm. Itachi turned to face them. "His arm is dead. My seal is the only thing preventing it from spreading to the rest of his body." The medical ninja looked up at him, frightened. "I'm not familiar with this kind of jutsu." Another ninja walked over to examine it.

From in the crowd, Hinata tried to get a glimpse of what was going on. **"Byakugan!"** She looked around and found Naruto standing next to Itachi. She also saw the Third kneeling on the ground. She looked a little closer at his arm and was shocked. There was a black chakra flowing through his arm and it looked like it was eating away at his arm!

One of the medical ninja at the Hokage's side saw this too. "Lord Hokage, I'm afraid the only thing we can do to stop it is to amputate your arm." Shock passed through the crowd. People started muttering to eachother and looked at his arm. The Third thought for a moment, and then looked up. "Then it is decided. Take me to the operating room and then back to my quarters." The two ninja nodded and lifted him. They then left in a hurry along with a heavy guard unit.

Now everyone looked at Itachi. Naruto was starting to get uncomfortble with all of the looks."Itachi-sensei, what now?" Itachi sighed. "I'm going back to the hideout. It is not yet safe here for me." He turned to look at Naruto. "Now that the chuunin exams are over, we have something to discuss when you get back. Take some time to be with your team. Also, teleport your weapons back to the hideout. They will be safe there." Naruto looked confused but did as he was told. Itachi smiled. "I will see you later."

Naruto nodded and Itachi walked away. People moved to get out of his way but kept their eyes on him. Yugao and a few other ANBU members stormed off. Naruto looked around and walked over to Hinata. Shino and Kurenai were standing with her. Naruto looked at them and sighed. "That was a little more attention than I wanted." He laughed nervously. Kurenai smiled. "It will be alright Naruto. How about I take us all out for lunch?"

That immediately got Naruto's spirit up. "Alright!" Hinata giggled and even Shino smiled. They turned to walk away but were stopped by Kakashi. "Would you mind if my team joined you?" Kurenai shook her head. "Of course not, you are welcome to come." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "You may come if you would like Sasuke." Sasuke couldn't look his sensei in the eye. "I would like that." Kakashi smiled behind his mask and they all turned towards the village. Naruto could feel dozens of eyes on them as they left.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi jumped down into the hideout and looked around. _"I must get things ready. Now that Naruto has taken the exam, we can get to serious training."_ Itachi walked over to a door and opened it. He walked into the weapon room and looked around at all of his treasures. He looked up at the dangling kunai and examined all of his weapons to make sure that they were in good shape. He walked over to Naruto's weapon scroll and strapped it to his back.

Itachi went through every room like this. He checked to make sure everything was in place, then he would shut and lock it behind him. When he got to Naruto's room, he hesitated. He had never gone into Naruto's room since he took Naruto in. He upheld a very strict rule of privacy, courtasy of his days with the ANBU. He went into Naruto's room for a short moment, checking that everything was in order. He then left the room and locked the door behind him.

Itachi had one more thing to do. He walked over to his great obsidian chair sitting in the middle of the hall. Itachi walked behind it and touched the wall above the chair. He activated a seal and the fake wall dissappeared. Hidden inside was a black cloak covered in red clouds. _"The Akatsuki cloak."_ He grabbed it from the hook it was on and resealed the wall. He then put the cloak on and left a note on Naruto's door. It read,

"I will be back shortly. Wait here until I return. I have some buisness to take care of.

Itachi.

P.S. I went into your room to make everything was secure. I hope you don't mind."

Itachi then jumped out of the hidout, taking the cloak and scroll with him, and sealed the door behind him.

**Hidden Leaf Village **

Naruto and the others walked into the restaurant. It wasn't a fancy place, but they had good food. After they sat down, no one spoke for awhile. "What's wrong guys, why is no one talking?" Naruto said with a confused voice. Kakashi looked over to Kurenai, hoping that she would explain, but she remained silent. Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, do you think that the village will really accept Itachi?" Naruto looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Hinata was sitting next to Naruto and was starting to get uncomfortable. Kakashi explained. "Naruto, the Third Hokage has been well respected ever since he first became the Hokage of the Leaf. But you must realize that no matter how much people respect you, they will not always choose your side."

Naruto looked straight at Kakashi, then down at the table. "So you are saying that even though the Third has forgiven Itachi-sensei, there are people who have not." Kakashi went on, "There are some people who never will, Naruto." Naruto became sad and Hinata grabbed his hand with hers.

"Naruto." Everyone looked up and stared at Sasuke, who hadn't spoke this entire time. "Even though I despise what my brother did…now that I have seen him face-to-face, I am unsure of how I feel." Kakashi and Kurenai were in disbelief. "No matter what he did, he is my brother….He deserves to be heard, even if I won't like what he has to say."

Naruto stared in awe at Sasuke. _"Is this the same Sasuke that I once knew?"_ Before any more of the awkward conversation could continue, the food was brought out and they all began to eat. Naruto turned to Kurenai. "Sensei, thank you for trusting me." Kurenai smiled. "You are my student Naruto, and part of my team. I will always give you the benefit of the doubt." Naruto smiled.

After they were done eating, Naruto leaned over and whispered something to Hinata. Shino looked over and saw that Hinata was blushing slightly. Then she nodded and looked excited. Naruto turned to the rest of them. "Thank you everyone for the food. We should do this again soon." Naruto smiled and bid them farewell, and both him and Hinata left. Ever since they had sat down, Hinata had never let go of his hand.

The two of them walked around the village for quite some time. They looked at eachother and smiled and eventually reached the top of the cliff, which the previous Hokage's faces were carved into. They sat down and overlooked the village. "Hinata, being with you makes me so happy." Naruto smiled as Hinata leaned on his shoulder. "I feel the same way Naruto." Naruto frowned a bit as his mind wandered.

"Hinata, what do you think will happen next?" Hinata looked confused and sat up to look at Naruto. "What do you mean?" Naruto looked out over the village. "What Kakashi said about Itachi not being accepted….now that the ANBU know he is a threat, don't you think they will pursue him again?" Hinata shuddered and wrapped her arms around Naruto.

"Don't think about that Naruto. We don't know what will happen, and it does no good for us to guess." Naruto looked down. "Yea, you're right Hinata." He looked over at her and hugged her. "Thank you." Hinata hugged him back. They looked at eachother deeply and stared into the other's eyes.

Naruto broke the silence. "Hinata, if I have to go away with Itachi…you don't have to wait for me." Hinata was shocked but then smiled. "Naruto, I will always wait for you." She leaned towards him and kissed him very lightly on the lips.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto unsealed the hideout and jumped down. The first thing he noticed was that Itachi wasn't there. He also noticed that all of the doors were shut. _"That's weird."_ Naruto thought. _"Itachi-sensei never shuts the door to the kitchen."_ Naruto walked around and examined everything in the hideout. He finally got to his door and saw a note on it. He picked it up and read it.

"I will be back shortly. Wait here until I return. I have some buisness to take care of.

Itachi.

P.S. I went into your room to make everything was secure. I hope you don't mind."

Naruto folded the note and put it in his pocket. He then opened the door to his room and looked around. He remembered his very first lesson. _"If someone has been in an area that belongs to you, then no matter how much you trust them, always check to make sure nothing was taken."_ Naruto walked around his room to make sure everything was in place, then he left his room, closing the door behind him.

Naruto wanted to check one more room. He walked over to the weapon room. He unlocked and unsealed the door. When he looked inside, his eyes snapped to where his weapons were supposed to be. "Huh?" Naruto said with a confuse face. He walked over and examined the spot. His weapons were gone, but he found a small singe mark on the ground where the scroll was supposed to be.

Naruto sighed. _"Itachi took it. It is safe. But what did he want with it?"_ Naruto shrugged and walked to his room. He just realized that he was exhausted. It had been a very long day. He fell onto his bed and instantly went to sleep.

**Outside Hidden Leaf Village (Waterfall)**

Itachi was standing in front of the waterfall. He looked down into the eerily still water at the base. He could see his reflection, and he noticed that he was not the same man who killed the Uchiha Clan. "So you are here, Itachi."

Itachi looked forward into the waterfall. The voice was coming from behind it, but he could not make out the figure behind the waterfall. "Yes, I have come to ask for guidance." Itachi gazed into the outline of the figure, waiting for a response.

"You do not require guidance at this time, Itachi." Itachi was nervous and shifted under the Akatsuki cloak. "What do you mean by that?" The sound from the waterfall stopped, as did the water itself. "You know where you are going, and what you are doing. I cannot guide you if you already know your destination."

Itachi sighed. "But," The figure appeared to step towards the waterfall and almost appeared to be protruding from the it. "I do have some advice for you." Itachi listened closely. "Always have a back-up plan." The figure dissappeared from behind the waterfall and the water flowed normally once again.

Itachi was confused by the advice, but knew what he was going to do. He took out the scroll that held Naruto's weapons in it. He could not unseal it, but he did know how to add things to its contents. He took out his own, smaller scroll, and sealed it within the bigger scroll. He then turned from the waterfall and headed for the hideout.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Secret Underground)**

Three silhoutted figures stood in the huge room. The room stood like a hall, but it seemed to have no ceiling as it expanded on forever upwards. Two of the figures were clearly of higher rank, as the third one was kneeling in front of them.

"The Third Hokage has made a foolish decision." One of the standing figures said. The other standing figure agreed with the first. "Indeed, this action will surely weaken his trust with the commoners. We should strike now and take the village while we can." The first figure shook his head. "No, not yet. We must take care of something first. A single ninja stands in between me and my rise to power." The figure turned around and took a few steps forward. "You are to find Itachi Uchiha and bring him to me, alive." The figure that was kneeling nodded slightly, then vanished in a swirl of leaves.

The second standing figure moved towards the first. "My Lord, what are you plannoing to do with the Uchiha?" The first figure turned towards the other and half of his face was illuminated. His right eye and most of his face was covered in a thick bandage. "I plan to do what any man would do in order to gain his rightful place. I will destroy the stability of this village. Not with Itachi, he is just the first step. My rule will be assured as soon as a few loose ends are taken care of."

**Uchiha Hideout**

Itachi jumped down into the hideout. He figured that Naruto was back because the note that he had left on the door was gone. He went to the kitchen and grabbed an apple. He walked to Naruto's door and cracked it open. "Naruto, you in there?" Itachi heard a groan and took that for a "yes". "Come on out, I have something to tell you."

Itachi walked back to the center of the hall and sat down on the floor. Naruto came out a few minutes later in the same green suit he had on during the exams. "Yes Itachi-sensei? What's going on?" Itachi motioned for Naruto to sit down and he did.

"Naruto, now that the chuunin exams are over, there is much more that I can teach you." Naruto listened carefully. "But, training in this hideout will only serve us so well. We can learn so much more from distant lands. Which is why we will be going away for training this time."

Naruto was shocked but tried not to show it. "Go away? Do you mean like outside the Hidden Leaf?" Itachi chuckled. "Much farther than that Naruto. We will be going past the border of the Land of Fire." Naruto was nervous. He didn't know what to say. "When….will we be leaving?"

Itachi frowned and closed his eyes. "Tomorrow." Naruto started to panic. "Tomorrow? Should we really be leaving that soon? I mean, the exams just finished." Itachi looked up at Naruto and smiled. "It will be ok Naruto. It would be best to leave early. After all, we don't know if the Third's decision of putting me on 'probation' will hold."

Naruto agreed with Itachi. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that many people would not agree with the Hokage on his recent decree. "Itachi-sensei, what about Hinata and the others? What about my team?" Itachi sighed. "I know it's hard Naruto, but you must leave them behind for now. They will be fine and we won't be gone for more than six months."

Naruto almost started to cry, but he was able to hold it in. Itachi stood up and walked over to him. "Naruto, you are strong. But if you wish to protect those you care about, you must become stronger." Naruto nodded and Itachi walked towards his room. He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "Go Naruto. Be with your team tonight. We leave tomorrow at dawn."

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Naruto walked through the village one last time before he would have to leave. He was sad at first, but he realized that Itachi was right. He would have to train so that he could become much stronger. _"It's for Hinata. I just hope I can tell her."_

Naruto walked pass the Hyuuga mansion first. No one was home. He sighed and decided that He would tell Shino first. Once he finally arrived at Shino's house, Naruto stopped and waited. He didn't know why, but he was scared to tell Shino. _"What will he think? Maybe he will think that I am abandoning the team. Maybe he will tell everyone that I'm a traitor….Maybe he will tell Hinata before I can."_

Naruto shook his head to clear his mind of the thoughts as he walked up to the door. He knocked and waited. There was no answer. Naruto was starting to get annoyed. _"I get myself all worked up and he's not even here." _Naruto turned around and walked away. He started to run and jumped up onto a rooftop.

From there, Naruto looked around for any of his teammates. "There!" Kurenai looked up to see Naruto standing on a roof and waved. Naruto laughed nervously when he realized how loud he had shouted. He jumped down and ran to meet his sensei.

"Well hello there, Naruto. Why are you in such a big hurry?" Naruto smiled, and then he remembered why and frowned. "Kurenai-sensei, I have an opportunity to leave the village and train. I'm sorry, but I have to take it so I can get stronger. I hope you aren't upset." Kurenai nodded and then smiled.

"Oh, well Naruto don't worry about it." Naruto looked up and was confused. "Huh?" Kurenai smiled again. "We all have opportunities that we must take, even if that means leaving our friends behind for awhile." She paused for a moment, then she looked directly at Naruto. "Why do you feel like you need to be stronger? You practically won the chuunin exams."

Naruto smiled. "My dream is to become the Hokage. I'm not nearly strong enough right now….And I want to get stronger to protect the people I care about." Kurenai smiled slyly. "Hmm, people like Hinata?" Naruto blushed and nodded.

"Alright Naruto. When do you leave?" Naruto frowned. "Tomorrow morning." Kurenai nodded. "Ok, you should get going and tell the others. Especially Hinata. I know how close you two must be." Naruto blushed a little then nodded and ran off.

**Training Ground 4**

"**Parasitic Insects Jutsu."** Hundreds of tiny bugs swarmed around Hinata, but she was prepared. She bent her knees and ran forward, then jumped over the bugs. She landed behind Shino and before he could do anything, she unleashed her jutsu. **"Rotation!" **Hinata spun and a blue sphere appeared around her. Shino bounced off of the sphere and rolled when he landed. He almost instantly jumped to his feet and was ready for another round.

"Naruto!" Hinata smiled as she ran over to hug him. Naruto smiled too and wrapped his arms around her. "I thought you went home. Didn't you say that Itachi wanted to talk to you about something?" Naruto nodded slowly and frowned.

"Hinata, Shino…I am leaving on a training mission." Hinata was in shock and Shino stood like a statue. "I'm sorry, but it is to get stronger so I can be of more use to you as a teammate." Hinata shook her head. "But Naruto, you are one of the strongest people I know." Naruto smiled and a tear came to his eye.

"But I'm not strong enough." Hinata looked confused and she started to tear up too. Naruto walked towards her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Hinata." It was all he could say. Hinata just squeezed him tighter.

She finally let go and wiped the tears from her eyes. Shino walked forward and sighed. "Naruto, you are a good comrade. Possibly the best I've ever had." Naruto smiled and wiped his tears away. Then, Shino did something that Naruto had never seen him do. He raised his right hand up to the collar of his jacket, which covered his face, and he pulled it down. For the first time, Naruto and Hinata actually saw Shino's full face.

It was pale, much paler then either of them would have thought. Shino unzipped his jacket just enough so that the collar would stay out of his face. Shino smiled. "We will see each other again Naruto. Our team cannot be broken, and I am proud to call you my friend." Naruto smiled and walked over to Shino. He put his hand on Shino's shoulder and smiled.

"It feels good to have friends like you two, and to have such an awesome team." He took his hand off of Shino and looked back at Hinata. "Hinata—" Before Naruto could finish, Hinata was face-to-face with him and kissed him. He kissed her back and he never wanted to stop, but he knew that he had to.

When they finished Hinata hugged him again. "Promise me you will come back." Naruto chuckled a little and put his hands on her shoulders. She was getting ready to cry again. "I promise."

**Uchiha Hideout (next morning)**

Naruto woke up extra early. He was really excited that he was actually going to leave the Land of Fire and explore new places. Itachi was already up as well. He was packing food supplies that would last about two days. "I hope you remember your training Naruto. We will be hunting our own food once again."

Naruto nodded. "Of course I do Itachi-sensei. I'm ready for it." Itachi smiled and finished packing. "One more thing Naruto. Your teammates arranged something for you. They would like you to meet them at the front gate of the Leaf in about an hour." Naruto looked confused but nodded. "Alright, how long after that will I have before we leave?" Itachi replied. "Ten minutes."

**Hidden Leaf Village (Front Gate)**

Naruto walked up to the front gate. He looked around and didn't see anyone. _"I must be early."_ He waited a few minutes and then, running towards him was Hinata. She had the biggest smile on her face that he had ever seen. Behind her was Kurenai and Shino.

Naruto smiled and braced himself as Hinata almost jumped to hug him. By the time they released eachother, Kurenai and Shino had reached them. "Good morning Naruto." Kurenai said as she smiled. "Morning." Naruto said back.

"We all have something for you before you go." Naruto looked confused as Shino stepped forward. He held out his hand and on it was a silver beetle figurene. "It may not have any practical value, but perhaps it can remind you that you are not alone. You have valuable friends awaiting your return." Naruto smiled and took the beetle. "Thank you Shino."

Hinata stepped forward next and was blushing. She held out a kunai that had a light purple ribbon attached to the end. "My father helped me to imbue some of my chakra into this kunai. Whenever you hold it, you should be able to feel my chakra signature." Naruto looked at the kunai with awe and quickly hugged Hinata. "Thank you."

When they were finished hugging, Kurenai smiled and gave Naruto a small rectangular box. "Open it." She said as she smiled. Naruto unwrapped the small box and when he opened it, he smiled. It was a ninja outfit, specialized for him. It had hard black leather on the front and an ornate deep blue design on it that looked like miniature tsunamis. The legs were sleek black and had a blue collar around each ankle. It came complete with a blue and black headband with the Hidden Leaf insignia on the front and the word 'Chuunin' on the inside.

Naruto smiled wide and hugged Kurenai. "Thank you so much sensei. I will be back in a few months." Kurenai hugged him back and then Naruto walked over to Hinata. He hugged her once again and kissed her. "I love you." He whispered to her. He then waved goodbye and ran off to meet Itachi who was standing in the distance.

Itachi and Naruto walked off into the distance and they made their own path through the forest. They walked a short distance and arrived at Tenchi Bridge. It was then that Itachi spoke. "Naruto, the road ahead is a difficult one. It will take all of your mind and body to complete." Naruto nodded and then Itachi stopped.

He turned to look at Naruto with warm but stern eyes. "If you do not give this training your all, then it will be for nothing." Naruto gulped and nodded again. "I will give it everything I've got!" Itachi smiled and they started walking again.

"Itachi-sensei, exactly what kind of training are we doing?" Itachi smirked. "All sorts of things. I've got a checklist of what you need to learn in the next six months. The first thing is—" Both Itachi and Naruto sensed it at the same time. They dodged in opposite directions just missing the paper bomb that almost hit them and prepared for a fight.

"Arg, what now?" Naruto said in an annoyed rather than angry voice. He waited and watched as the smoke cleared. A figure appeared in the smoke. "Is that…no it can't be." Naruto said in shock. "Itachi Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, I have come to claim your lives."

**That's all for today! Hope you enjoyed it. Actually took me quite a bit of time without any fights. Sorry for the cliffhanger but maybe it will convince you to REVIEW! I have a new poll up that will remain until I finish this ark. I plan to split my entire story into four different arks and I need to know if I should split them into separate stories or keep them all bunched into this story. The poll is on my profile page. Let me know what you think!**


	23. The 7 Days

**Sorry for the wait guys. I know I kinda left you hanging but I garuntee it was worth the wait. A lot of you might not like this chapter, but stick with it. Naruto gets much stronger in the next few chapters and believe it or not, it might not be enough. Enjoy.**

**Tenchi Bridge**

Naruto looked at the unexpected visitor and kept his guard up. "I will only say this once, get out of our way." Itachi spoke with authority and calmness. The man laughed and got angry quickly. "NO! I have come too far to just let that boy pass." He pointed at Naruto and just then, Naruto recognized him.

"Noeme Gibuntaro?" The ninja smiled and looked at Naruto. "So, you remember me. Good, then you should know that I am much stronger than before." Naruto smirked. "So am I. Itachi-sensei, let me handle this." Itachi nodded as Naruto stepped forward to face Noeme.

Another familiar voice came from the trees. "Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, you may go no further." Naruto turned his head slightly to see Yugao jump down from the trees. "What!? Noeme and Yugao?" Naruto sighed. "The Hokage said that Itachi is free from his crime!" Yugao stood ready to fight as she answered. "The Hokage only has so much power, my order comes from higher up."

Naruto was confused. "Who has more power than the Hokage?" Itachi frowned and turned to face Yugao. "The head of the ANBU Black Ops can override the Hokage's decision if he finds the Hokage as 'unable' to perform his duties." Naruto became angry. "The Hokage is perfectly 'able' to handle his duties!"

"It seems like the Hidden Leaf is in turmoil, perfect." They all turned to see where the voice had come from. The man walked out from behind a tree. He had a large sword on his back and blue shark-like skin. Itachi instantly turned toward the man and readied his kunai. "Kisame Hoshigake, what do you want?"

Naruto looked at Kisame. _"That's the man who wanted Itachi to join the Akatsuki?"_ Kisame smiled. "Didn't I tell you? Since you rejected our gracious invitation, you must die." Naruto became worried. They were surrounded on three sides. Noeme in front of them, Yugao on the right side, and Kisame on the left. "Itachi-sensei, this is bad." Itachi nodded in agreement. "Are you sure that you can take Noeme by yourself?" Naruto nodded.

"We don't want the chance of friendly fire in this fight. I want you to lead Noeme to the other side of the bridge. I will deal with Yugao and Kisame." Naruto nodded and jumped over Noeme. "What the—" Before Noeme could finish, Naruto grabbed Noeme's shirt and threw him all the way to the other side of the bridge. Naruto looked back at Itachi and nodded. When Itachi nodded back, Naruto ran over to fight Noeme.

**Tenchi Bridge (Itachi's Side)**

Itachi jumped back towards the edge of the bridge. He could now see both Yugao and Kisame clearly. He looked at Kisame. "Why now? Why did you wait until now to come after me?" Kisame smiled. "When we heard that Orochimaru was planning to attack the Hidden Leaf, it was decided that it would be the perfect time to catch you off-guard." Yugao jumped over to Itachi, but instead of attacking him, she turned toward Kisame.

"Right now, Kisame poses more of a threat than you, Itachi. Let us work together to fight him." Itachi was suspicious. "Why help me?" Yugao hesitated. "If Kisame is allowed to fight you alone, and wins, there is no telling what he will do with your body. My orders are to bring you back, alive." Itachi flinched. *_Alive? What could the ANBU possibly want with me?"*_ Kisame unsheathed his sword. "What are we waiting for? This should be fun."

xXxXxXxXxXx Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold xXxXxXxXxXx

Kisame ran straight for them with his sword hanging behind him. He jumped forward and slashed. Itachi and Yugao both jumped out of the way and ran around Kisame. They ran towards Kisame from opposite sides. Kisame smiled and swung his sword in a 360. Yugao was its first target, but instead of trying to block, Yugao ducked beneath it. Itachi believed that Yugao would block the sword, but was sadly mistaken as it struck him across the face. Itachi was thrown back into a tree as Yugao unsheathed her sword and swung at Kisame. Kisame effortlessly blocked and pushed Yugao away.

Itachi stood up and looked at Yugao. He could not see her face under the mask, but he knew that she had planned that. _*I have to watch out for her.*_ He looked back at Kisame who was preparing a jutsu. He aimed it at Yugao. "Annoying pest, let's see how you like this." Kisame waved his hands and slammed them to the ground. "Water Shockwave Jutsu!" A tidal wave appeared from nowhere and sped towards Yugao. Itachi took his chance and threw several shuriken at Kisame, then made a few handsigns. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." The flaming orb raced towards Kisame, engulfing the shuriken to make a deadly mix of metal and flame. Yugao swung her sword with immense speed and shouted, "Wind Style: Shattering Blade!"The wind generated from the blade ripped straight through the water and was cutting off Kisame's escape.

Without hesistation, Kisame jumped straight up, which was his mistake. The wind slash and fireball collided. The elements complimented eachother as the fireball grew to a massive size and changed direction. It flew up and engulfed Kisame in a ball of fire. As the fire settled, Kisame was seen falling to the ground. He landed hard. Itachi was the first to approach him. He was extremely cautious of Yugao and kept his eye on her. Before he could get too close, Kisame's body dissolved into water. Itachi tried to jump back but was too late. Kisame was behind him and had a hand on him. "Water Prison."A sphere of water enveloped Itachi before he could escape. Kisame then split in two and both halves regenerated with water. "Yugao, if you would like Itachi, come and get him.

Yugao didn't hesitate and threw multiple kunai and shuriken at the water clone that was holding Itachi. Kisame moved in front of the shuriken to block. However, it was only a distraction. A shadow clone of Yugao appeared behind the water clone and she quickly destroyed it. Kisame turned and made a few handsigns. "I don't think so little girl. Water Shark Shotgun Jutsu!" Three enourmous sharks made of hard water swam through the air at Itachi and Yugao. Itachi knew what was going to happen next. Yugao jumped out of the way without releasing Itachi. The sharks hit Itachi hard, knocking him out of the sphere. He was stopped by a tree, but he knew that he wasn't winning this.

Itachi decided that it was time for drastic measures. _*This will take almost all of my chakra, but I must escape with Naruto. The sooner we get out of their reach, the better.*_ Itachi made one handsign and prepared his chakra. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." Hundreds of clones were made and scattered between the three of them.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Tenchi Bridge (Naruto's Side)

Naruto prepared himself as Noeme stood up. "You little brat! I'll make you pay for that." Naruto was not amused. He simply stared at Noeme with his weapon ready. Noeme got angry. "What's up with you? What are you staring at!?" Naruto smirked. "Let's finish this quickly, my sensei needs my help." Noeme smiled eagerly and charged at Naruto.

xXxXxXxXxXx Seek and Destroy by Metallica xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto was ready for anything Noeme could throw at him. Noeme ran forward and drew his sword. It streaked sideways as he slashed at Naruto, but Naruto was already gone. Noeme turned and was punched in the face by Naruto's left hook. Noeme went flying. Before he could even land, Naruto was above him. "Reverse Seal: Single Prong."Naruto brought his heel crashing down onto Noeme with great force. Noeme hit the ground hard as Naruto's heel dug in. Naruto jumped back and watched as Noeme tried to stand. "You little brat, I'll make you pay for that."

Naruto smirked as he watched Noeme. He decided that it was best to end this sooner than later. Naruto took a few shuriken out of his pouch and readied them. As soon as Noeme stood up, Naruto threw the shuriken. "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu."The shuriken multiplied at flew towards Noeme. Noeme smirked. He stood and waited for the shuriken to hit him, and as soon as one touched him, the shuriken dissappeared! Naruto stood in awe as each one of the shuriken was enveloped by Noeme's body. Noeme grinned ear to ear. While he was still absorbing the shuriken, he held his hand up. The shuriken flew out of his hand, back at Naruto. Naruto tried to dodge but he had made too many shuriken. He was scraped a few times but was able to dodge before he sustained any serious injuries. Noeme laughed. "You see Naruto, I have learned new tricks. And this time I will beat you."

Naruto stood up and paid no attention to where he had been hit. He watched Noeme carefully. _"Does he have any other tricks I should know about?"_ Naruto eyed Noeme cautiously, then ran forward. Naruto took out a kunai and slashed at Noeme's neck. But it was a feint. Noeme blocked the slash and left himself open. Naruto brought in his foot and caught Noeme in the side. He didn't feel anything at first, but then he heard a crack and saw Noeme's body start moving. But his foot was stuck inside of Noeme. The two of them were thrown to the ground in a very ungraceful manner. Noeme panicked and his jutsu fell apart, releasing Naruto's foot. Naruto thought to himself, _"I guess he only learned that one jutsu."_ He jumped back and put a little pressure on his leg. He winced in pain as he put pressure on it. *_Broken.*_ Naruto looked over at Noeme to see if he had sustained any damage. He looked like nothing had happened, but Naruto swore he heard a cracking of bones. *_Was it just my own foot breaking?*_ Naruto decided that there was only one way to find out. He tried to stand and pushed through the pain. He threw a kunai at where he thought Noeme's broken rib was. It hit Noeme and he screamed in agony. Naruto was panting now. _"At least it wasn't just me."_ He thought to himself as he leaned on a tree.

Naruto thought about what he would do next. Just then, a clone of Itachi appeared on each side of Noeme, surrounding him. "Itachi-sensei!" Itachi seemed to pay no attention, but each clone made a handsign. "Fire Style: Clone Explosion."

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto was blown back by the shockwave and thrown into a tree. The four clones had exploded with such force that he knew Noeme hadn't survived. However, he heard more than one explosion. He looked across the bridge to Itachi's side. It was covered with smoke. Naruto knew that if Itachi was desperate enough to use his massive clone explosion, he was not winning. Naruto used what little healing jutsu he knew to attempt to repair his foot. It wasn't great, but it was the best he could do. He stood up and started walking to the other side of the bridge.

Tenchi Bridge (Itachi's Side)

Itachi was panting heavily. He had used much more chakra than he was accustomed to. The instant he summoned the clones, he knew that it was a mistake. He had made too many, and made the explosion too big. _"I have to get away with Naruto, now!"_ He struggled to keep from falling. He walked slowly towards the bridge. "Argh!" Itachi suddenly felt a pain in his back. He knew he was finished, but at least Kisame would give him a quick death, hopefully.

Itachi fell to his knees and coughed up blood. "Itachi," the voice was feminine! It was Yugao that stabbed him in the back. "I'm sorry, but it is time that you come with me." Itachi couldn't believe it. He fell and twisted his body. The kunai was pulled out painfully, but at least he fell on his back so that he could see Yugao before he lost consciousnous. His vision was getting blurry, but he was definitely looking at Yugao.

Yugao frowned. "I'm sorry, Itachi. I wish there was another way." Itachi smiled. "Yugao.." his lungs were failing him. "I love you." Yugao flinched and tears came to her eyes. "I know. I truly wish there was another way." Itachi's head fell back and she quickly scooped him up. "Stop it! Yugao!" Yugao turned to see Naruto, now crawling across the bridge. He held his hand up, then it fell to the ground. It was clear that he was in shock from the pain. Yugao turned and headed towards the Hidden Leaf.

Uchiha Hideout

Naruto woke with a jolt. He instantly regretted it as he could still feel the pain in his leg. He groaned in pain and almost instantly, Hinata was next to him. "Naruto! You're awake!" She hugged him, which caused him to tense up in pain. She released him suddenly and he fell back to his bed. Before she could apologize, Naruto smiled and motioned that he was ok.

Shino walked in and looked at Naruto. "See Hinata? I told you he would be fine. I'm not that bad at healing." Hinata sighed and looked at Naruto. Naruto looked around. "I'm in...my room?" Shino nodded. "What happened Naruto? One second Hinata and I are walking through the forest on a mission, the next we saw a giant rock out of place and we found ourselves here." Naruto looked confused. Then he remembered. _"The NineTails must have willed my body to crawl to the hideout!"_ He suddenly came to the realization of what happpened. "Itachi has been taken by Yugao!" Hinata and Shino stared at him. "What do you mean Naruto? How could that happen?" Naruto became frustrated, and just noticed that he had a throbbing headache. "We, we were surrounded…on three sides…Itachi tried to take them both on…I should have been better."

Hinata looked worried. She didn't understand what he was saying. And apparently, neither did Shino. "Naruto, who surrounded you?" Shino asked. Naruto stared at the bed. "Yugao came from the right, Kisame, a member of the Akatsuki, came from the left. Noeme come from in front." Hinata looked worried. "A member of the Akatsuki? What did he want?"

Naruto shook his head violently. "It doesn't matter! I have to save Itachi!" Naruto stood up instantly but his headache, along with his still broken leg, made him lose his balance. Hinata was fast and caught him in her arms. She sighed in relief and sat him back down on the bed. "Calm down Naruto. You can't do anything with that broken leg."

Naruto was close to tears. He had failed his sensei. Failed himself. He put his hand on his leg where it was broken. Just then, a seal appeared above his leg. It was green and at Naruto's touch, it became three-dimensional and shattered. The three of them looked at Naruto's leg and watched in awe. They could see the bone moving inside his skin, re-adjusting. Naruto heard a pop, followed by a brief pain. He put his hand back on his leg. It was healed!

"What just happened?" Hinata asked. Naruto didn't say anything and instead tried to stand. Hinata was wary and Shino tensed. Naruto put weight on his foot and balanced. "My foot, it doesn't hurt anymore." Shino was suspicious. "How can that be? Just a moment ago it was broken." Naruto shook his head, confused. "It was the seal. The seal was green, which means that it heals. But how did it get there?"

Hinata sighed. "However it got there, I'm glad you're ok now Naruto." Naruto nodded in agreement and walked out of his room. Hinata and Shino instinctively followed. They watched Naruto, noticing that he was still in shock. Shino spoke first. "Naruto, what do you plan to do?" Naruto turned around to look at them. Determination was clear in his face. "I must save Itachi."

"Naruto, if he was taken by Yugao, then he's probably at the ANBU Headquarters in the Hidden Leaf. You can't possibly believe that they will just let you in." Hinata protested. "No." Naruto said. "I'll have to break in." Hinata gasped and Shino shook his head dissapprovingly. "You can't be serious Naruto." Shino said. "You would be killed the moment you trespassed." Naruto nodded. "I know, but I have to try."

Hinata stared in disbelief. She knew that Itachi meant a lot to Naruto, probably more than she will ever know, but she wasn't going to let him risk his life. "I'll come with you." Hinata said before she could stop herself. "As will I." Shino added. Naruto shook his head. "No, I cannot let you two risk your lives for me." Hinata immediately protested. "Naruto, we are a team, let's do this together!" Naruto looked at Hinata. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Naruto," her voice was shakey, "please." Naruto thought hard. "Alright, but on one condition." Both Hinata and Shino tensed. "I go in alone. That way, if I get caught, neither of you will have commited any crime." Hinata was going to protest, but the look Shino gave her told her not to. "…Ok, Naruto." Naruto sighed in relief, and hugged Hinata. "Thank you Hinata." He let her go sooner than she would have liked, and turned to Shino. "And thank you too, Shino." Shino nodded.

Naruto looked around the hideout. "Now, there has got to be something around here that can help us find out how to get to Itachi-sensei." Naruto walked over to Itachi's room and hesitated. He laughed nervously. "Itachi told me to never go in here without his explicit permission. It reminds me of the time…" Naruto remembered something. "Where is my scroll?" Hinata and Shino looked puzzled. "What scroll?" Hinata asked.

Naruto walked fast around the hideout, checking each room. "My weapon scroll, where is it?" Hinata looked at Naruto with a worried look. "I didn't see a scroll Naruto." Shino joined in, "Neither did I." Naruto walked faster and began to panic. _*That scroll cost a fortune, not to mention the weapons inside of it.*_ Naruto stopped in his tracks, and laughed. He laughed so hard that Hinata became worried. "Naruto?"

"I'm so stupid!" Naruto said as he laughed. Once he stopped laughing, he made a few handsigns. "Scroll Transfer Jutsu."The scroll appeared under Naruto's hand. "That's better." He said as he unsealed the scroll. He sighed as he saw that both Claw and Serra were still inside. But he noticed that something else was inside as well. It was a smaller scroll that wasn't there last time he had checked. "What is this?" Naruto said, almost to himself.

Hinata and Shino watched Naruto unseal the scroll. His eyes widened in realization. "This, this is the training schedule for my trip with Itachi!" Hinata gasped. "What?" She said. Naruto picked it up with disbelief. He read it aloud:

Naruto,

I wrote this just in case something happened to me during our trip that seperated us. This is a list of everything that I was going to teach you during the next six months. If for some reason I am unable to train you myself, I trust that you will find a way to train yourself until we are able to meet up.

1. Greater Chakra Control

2. Chakra Nature

3. Imbuing Weapons with Chakra

4. Improved Clone Jutsu

5. Alchemy

6. New Jutsu Creation

7. Sharingan Resistance

I know you will do well, until next we meet.  
Itachi

The three of them were silent. Hinata was the first to break the silence. "Naruto, what do you think this means?" Naruto was quiet. "It means that he knew this was going to happen, and that now," He turned to look at them, "we train."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! It took me longer than I would have liked to finish, but I finally did it and can go on to the next chapter. Go to my profile page to check out the poll. I need as many votes as possible. This is your chance to take control, don't miss it! PLEASE REVIEW!


	24. Day 1

**I'm back and it's time to start training. Naruto still has a long way to go before he can hope of rescuing Itachi. The next couple of chapters are going to make Naruto tougher, and may even cost him something of great value. Let's begin.**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto woke up the next day. He got up and went to the kitchen to find something to eat. Hinata and Shino would be there soon, and they would train for the whole day. _*I have to get Itachi-sensei back!*_ The first item on Itachi's list was about chakra control. Naruto remembered that last time they practiced chakra control, Itachi made him seal and unseal scrolls until he had no chakra left.

Naruto sighed and after grabbing some fruit, he turned to leave the kitchen. Hinata and Shino dropped into the hideout as he walked out of the kitchen. "Right on time." Naruto said with a smile. Hinata smiled too, but it faded as she thought of how hard it must be for Naruto. For the first time, Naruto was going to be both the teacher and student.

"I bet we can accomplish everything on that list in one day!" Naruto said defiantly with a big smile." Hinata frowned and tilted her head sideways. Shino said, "Naruto, that list was supposed to last for six months, don't you think it's going to take more than one day to learn everything?" Naruto's smile faded and he looked desperate. "I have to! Itachi-sensei needs me."

Shino smiled and shook his head. He had changed his style of clothing gradually as the three of them got more comfortable working together. He no longer hid his face, but he still wore dark sunglasses and a light trenchcoat that was now a light shade of grey. "Think about it Naruto. If we don't take our time with this, we will rush to our deaths. We want to be very well prepared." Naruto nodded in agreement. "But who knows how much time we have?"

Shino already had an answer for that. "The ANBU Black Ops is a very systematic orginazation. They have several forms of interrogation and they always want to know eveything about their captive before they…dispose of him." Hinata hurriedly joined in. "And we don't even know what they plan on doing with him. My father always said that when the ANBU decide to go after a target, they always have more than one reason."

Suddenly, something clicked inside Shino. "Naruto, I think I know the other reason they took Itachi." Both Naruto and Hinata looked at Shino. "The ANBU always have another reason right? All we know about Itachi is that he eliminated the Uchiha Clan, Sasuke being the exception. Sasuke hasn't done anything to be put on their radar that I know of. That only leaves one other person." Shino looked at Naruto and frowned. "They want you, Naruto."

**Somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village**

When Itachi woke, he found himself shackled to a cold wall. He sighed and looked around. He was in a holding cell, obviously in the heart of the underground headquarters of the ANBU Black Ops. He had brought many people down here to wait for their interrogation. He tested his shackles. They weren't that strong, but he already knew that he couldn't break them. The cell he was in was special. It drained the chakra of anyone inside.

Itachi sat against the wall and breathed deeply. He hadn't had much time to just relax since the beginning of the Chuunin exams. Even though this was his least favorite place to be, he was relieved. He knew exactly how the ANBU worked. He knew their procedures, rules, interrogation methods, even their schedules for bathroom breaks. But none of that mattered. Everything changes when they have a high value ninja in their "finest" cell.

Itachi checked every inch of the cell. There was nothing. No small cracks, no windows, even the door was solid steel. The only way out was for someone else to open the door. "This isn't good." Itachi said softly. "Naruto will come for me. He doesn't know where I am, but he will find me. And they will kill him."

It was one of the few secrets Itachi had never told Naruto. The ANBU had wanted Naruto from the beginning. They wanted to control the nine-tails, make Naruto their weapon. Now that they have captured Itachi, Naruto will refuse them. They must kill him and seal the nine-tails in a different host. Itachi shook his head. _*I just hope Naruto doesn't rush into this.*_

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto's eyes went wide. "Why do they want me? I'm nowhere near as powerful as Itachi-sensei!" Shino shrugged. "I don't know, but it's the only reason that makes sense. They took Itachi because they knew that you would come for him." Naruto clenched his fists. "It's not fair."Hinata looked worried and walked over to Naruto. She wrapped her arms around him and embraced him. Naruto's tension was gone instantly. He hugged her back. "Thank you."

When she released him, Naruto walked into the weapon room and brought out two bags of scrolls. "What are those for?" Hinata asked. "Well, last time Itachi-sensei wanted me to increase my chakra control, he had me seal and unseal these scrolls for an entire day. He wanted me to try to use less and less chakra on each scroll." Naruto laid the scrolls on the ground in three rows. When he looked up, he had a smile on his face.

"Shino, Hinata, will you train with me? I know I can't do this alone and you two are the only ones I trust." Hinata smiled. "Of course we will Naruto. We are a team." Shino agreed and each of them walked up to a row of scrolls. "Ok, I want each of you to close one scroll." Shino and Hinata both nodded and leaned down with a hand extended toward a scroll. Hinata put her whole hand on the scroll and in a second, it snapped shut. Shino did the same but his seemed to shut slightly faster.

"Alright, when I did this training, I kept going until I could seal and unseal using only one finger." Naruto reached down and tapped a scroll and it instantly snapped shut. Shino was amazed at how little effort it took Naruto. "But we don't have a lot of time, so just practice using less chakra." Both of them nodded and went to work on the scrolls. Naruto placed a single seal on himself to supress some of his chakra, and then started on the scrolls.

After nearly two hours of the scrolls, Hinata and Shino both looked exhausted. Naruto however was moving twice as fast. He looked up as they stopped and smirked. "Ok, now we can begin the training." Hinata's jaw dropped. "We are just now beginning?" Naruto nodded. "Yes, Itachi-sensei taught me that the most effective way to train chakra control is to practice while having hardly any chakra left."

Hinata sighed and Shino breathed heavily while Naruto packed up the scrolls. He came back with something in his hand. "You both used a little more chakra than I thought you would though." He handed each of them an oval fruit. "This is a chakra fruit. It doesn't grow here so I was surprised that I found some in the hideout. It will give you a surge of chakra for about an hour, and now that you can control your chakra better, we should be done with by the time its effects wear off."

Shino looked slightly annoyed because Naruto was starting to act like a real sensei, but he shrugged his shoulders and both of them ate the fruit. "Naruto," Hinata said, "what are we doing next?" Naruto looked around the room and walked to a wall that had several dummies on it. "I want you two to try using a seal along with your skills. Hinata, try hitting this dummy." Hinata obeyed and walked forward. She breathed deeply and stuck the dummy. It wobbled for a second and then stood straight.

"I want you to try to place a seal and strike the dummy at the same time." Hinata looked confused. "You mean like Neji does with his 8 trigrams?" Naruto smiled. "Close, but Neji doesn't place seals. He uses his chakra to form tiny needles at his fingertips. Itachi-sensei said that when Neji strikes, the chakra needle releases a tiny amount of chakra that serves as a block to the targets chakra. I want you to hit with your whole palm and leave a harmless seal. We can worry about what the seal does later." Naruto smiled at her and she became more confident of his words.

Naruto then carried a dummy to the middle of the room, where Shino was waiting. But before he could say anything, Shino talked. "Naruto, why are you teaching us to use seals?" Naruto frowned. "Truthfully, it's the only thing that I know well enough to teach. But I have learned that seals are also great distractions. If you place a seal on someone, they will most likely have to remove it before they can fight effectively. It gives you a chance to attack while they can't defend."

Naruto placed the dummy and looked at Shino. "I want you to do something a little more difficult Shino. I want you to try and place a seal on this dummy using only your insects." Shino looked at Naruto like he was crazy. "How am I supposed to get my insects to place a seal!?" Naruto looked confused. "Don't your insects use chakra to track whatever you hunt?"

Shino sighed. "No, Naruto. When the swarm chases something, it sends one insect back to me to let me know what is going on." Naruto thought for a minute. "Well, that makes this a little more complicated. Could your insects use the chakra of the victim to place a seal?" Shino thought for a moment. "I suppose so, but it would require a lot of training and I'm not sure how well the insects use chakra."

Naruto nodded and stood by the dummy. "Alright Shino, I trust you have complete control over your insects. I want you to use them on me." Shino looked shocked. Even Hinata stopped to look at Naruto. "What are you talking about Naruto?" Naruto smiled. "I'm not the only one training today. We must get stronger as a team. Individually we may be strong, but we are only chuunin. Together, we can take any jounin if we try hard enough."

Naruto hesitated. "But we are going to be fighting the elite of the Hidden Leaf Village. The ANBU Black Ops. If we must fight them, then we must get stronger." For the first time, Shino saw Naruto in a different light. In mere hours, Naruto had already devised a way to strengthen not only himself, but everyone around him. That was the nature of a true leader. "Alright, Naruto." Shino said. "What do I do?"

Naruto smirked. "Use your insects to take a little chakra from me, and then try to get them to leave a seal where they bite." Shino nodded and Naruto looked at Hinata, who was still staring. When he smiled, Hinata felt much calmer. _*He knows what he is doing.*_ The thought came suddenly and she caught herself smiling. Then, she got back to the dummy.

**Somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village**

"Will it work?" Danzo hated being questioned. The only thing he hated more was that even after he arranged the death of the Fourth Hokage, nothing had gone as he had planned. Naruto, who was supposed to be his prize pet, was somewhere training. Most likely in an attempt to rescue his precious sensei Itachi Uchiha. "Of course it will work." Danzo spat, his voice filled with rage but his face remained calm. "We have the most important thing in Naruto's life. He will come."

Danzo walked towards a black throne sitting in the middle of the dark hall. He was tired of always having to work in the shadows. But he knew that once Naruto was destroyed, the Third Hokage would lose hope and die. Then he would become the Fifth Hokage and rule with an iron fist. "How long must I wait unti Naruto shows?" The messenger ninja wore a mask, but he was obviously nervous and afraid of Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, we have just sent a messager bird to find Naruto and deliver a note. He has seven days to come find Itachi." Danzo's voice was cold. "Why did you give him seven days?" The ninja hesitated, a bad move. Danzo was out of his chair and had a sword on the neck of the messenger. "Uh, w-we thought that it would be a sufficient amount of time. Long enough that he believes he will be ready, but so short that he will have to rush any training."

Danzo kept the cold blade on the man's neck. My rise to power must be assured. I cannot have some jinchuuriki brat stand in my way. When he comes, we will make him do something every ninja dreads. Then, he will be broken and defeated. If he submits, I will use him to secure my rightful place as Hokage. If he refuses, he will die and be replaced by a ninja of my choosing, who will be the new jinchuuriki. Either way, I win. Danzo raised the blade and sheathed it. The ninja sighed. "Yes, my Lord."

**Uchiha Hideout**

The three of them were breathing heavily. Naruto hadn't done much, but Shino's insects had eaten away at a lot of his chakra, and the seal that had been placed on him made him feel very tired. Shino could barely move and Hinata was kneeling on the ground, her knees closed in front and her feet spread out behind her. "Alright, that should be enough for today." Naruto said as he sat down. He removed the seal he had placed on himself earlier and took a deep breath.

Shino retracted his insects and the three of them sat together in the center of the room. Naruto sighed. "We've been training for the whole day and it still feels like I havn't accomplished anything." Hinata shook her head. "That's not true Naruto. You learned that you can place multiple seals on your body to do different things and you can even unseal scrolls from a distance! Shino has learned to track whatever his insects attack by using a seal that instantly relays the location of the target. Even I improved a little. You taught me how to weaken and slow whatever I touch without having to interrupt the flow of combat. You are awesome Naruto!"

Naruto smiled and looked at Hinata. She looked beautiful. He looked at both of his teammates. All three of them were only 13 years old. They had just become chuunin less than a week ago and already they were planning an attack on the most powerful ninja orginazation in the Hidden Leaf. Either they were stupid, or couragous, or both. Probably both.

They heard a noise and instantly all three of them were on their feet, ready to fight. They heard the boulder that hid the door to the hideout being moved. Hinata gulped. A figure dropped down into the hideout. "What did you do Naruto?" The three of them instantly recognized the voice. The ninja stepped out of the shadows. She wore a red and brown outfit with stripes running at a slight angle that complimented her red eyes.

"Kurenai-sensei!" The three of them said it simultaneously. Kurenai stepped forward and smiled, but it faded quickly. "I have a message for you Naruto. It comes straight from the top of the ANBU." Naruto looked fierce. He was wearing the black shinobi outfit that she had given him before he was supposed to leave. She tossed the scroll to Naruto. He opened it and read it aloud. 

Naruto Uzumaki,

It has come to the attention of the ANBU Black Ops that that you have been cooperating in the effort to hide Itachi Uchiha from the Hidden Leaf. Your rogue activity will no longer be tolerated. By the grace of the Lord of Shadow, you have been given seven days to turn yourself in. If you are nowhere to be found within seven days, Itachi Uchiha will be executed.

The four of them stood in silence. Naruto read it over and over to himself, focusing on the last words, "Itachi Uchiha will be executed." He blinked away tears and crushed the paper in his hand. He looked at Kurenai. "Sensei, please tell me that you are not the one who was sent to get me." Shino and Hinata both looked at there Sensei. She shook her head. "No, I am not the one Naruto. The Lord of Shadow is doing something unheard of. Instead of sending someone after you, he has given you time to turn yourself in." Kurenai hesitated. "But, if you don't turn yourself in, there is no doubt in my mind that he will choose me to be the one that hunts you."

The three chuunin froze and there was a cold breeze in the air. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were filled with a fire and determination that caught Kurenai off-guard. "Kurenai-sensei, I have already chosen a path for myself. My teammates have chosen to help me." He looked at Shino first, then Hinata, then back at Kurenai. " But, if they help me, will they be hunted too?"

Kurenai frowned and nodded. "Yes Naruto, the three of you will be seen as rogue ninja." There was sadness in her voice and Naruto knew that if she had a choice, she would take their side. But an oath to the ANBU was serious. Naruto would never ask Kurenai to fight for him. He turned to Hinata. "Hinata, I-" "Don't." Hinata said sternly. "Please don't Naruto. Don't ask me to leave you, because I won't."

Naruto could see that there was no convincing her. Before he could turn, a hand clasped his shoulder. "I'm not leaving either." Naruto smirked as he realized just how much his comrades trusted him. "Then, we will fight." Naruto said with a smile. Kurenai frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that Naruto. I wish there was another way." She looked at the three of them. There was pride and sorrow in her eyes. "Out of all of the missions I have even been on, this was the best team I've ever been a part of. Good luck you three." Kurenai turned and jumped out of the hideout. And just like that, they were Team 8 no longer.

**Thanks for reading guys and gals! Things really pick up in the next 6 days of training. I leave for Florida in about a week and I will have no internet, but I will get two chapters done while I'm down there. PLEASE REVIEW and go to the poll on my profile page. Merry Christmas!**


	25. Day 2

**Hello all readers. We are closing in on the end of the first arc of my Naruto fanfic. Naruto, Shino, and Hinata all progress very fast in these next few chapters. I hope you enjoy day two!**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto woke up early. After getting something to eat, he walked to the great chair in the main room and read Itachi's letter again. Although he had already memorized it, Naruto made sure to read it everyday just in case he missed something. "Let's see," Naruto said to himself, "the next thing on the list is to learn about chakra natures."

Naruto thought for a minute. "Well, the only thing I know about chakra natures is that they come in five types: fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning." Naruto nodded to himself and knew what to do. He grabbed his weapon scroll, jumped out of the hideout and rolled the stone back into place. He then headed towards the Hidden Leaf Village.

**Hyuuga Mansion **

Hinata woke to the sound of her father shuffling through the hallway. She rolled out of bed and after getting dressed, she walked down the stairs. She strolled into the kitchen and grabbed some fruit off of the table. "Ah, Hinata it is good to see that you are up so early." Hiashi smiled as he walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning father." Hinata smiled and sat to eat her fruit. "I've been meaning to talk to you." Hiashi started. "Your cousin and I are going on a mission in a few days. We are expected to help some travelers pass through the Land of Fire and it will take several days. I trust you will be able to handle yourself while we are gone?"

Hinata just smiled and nodded. "Of course father, I am a strong ninja now. Besides, my teamates will always help if I ask." Hiashi nodded. Even after all this time, he only barely approved of the team his daughter was assigned to.

A boy of the Aburame clan, Shino appeared to be mysterious and secretive. Hiashi always thought that only those guilty of a crime were meant to be secretive. However, it seemed that the entire clan kept to themselves. That made all of them suspicious. Her sensei, Kurenai, would not have been his choice either. He saw her as confident, but her authority seemed weak. She was too lenient on her students. Hiashi would have much rather prefered that Kakashi be his daughter's sensei.

Last of all was the nine-tailed boy, Naruto. Although he had to admit that he liked the boy's attitude, he did not completely trust him, especially with his daughter. He could not understand what she saw in that boy. She claimed that she loved him, but Hiashi knew better. A thirteen-year-old girl does not know what love is. On top of all of this, the rogue ninja Itachi Uchiha claimed to have trained Naruto personally. Not only could that lead to bad news in the future, but it was also disturbing that in spite of learning this, Hinata's feelings for the boy did not change.

Hiashi sighed and there was a knock at the door. Hinata nearly jumped out of her seat as she rushed to the door. She opened it and was not at all surprised to see Naruto. "Hey Hinata." Naruto said as he smiled. "Hi Naruto. What are we doing today?" Before Naruto could answer, Hiashi was behind Hinata. "Oh, hello Mr. Hyuuga, uh, sir." Hiashi nodded. "Good morning." Naruto laughed nervously. "Actually Hinata, I have a question for your father."

Naruto looked at Hiashi now who stood as cool as ever with a stone gaze. "Sir, what do you know about chakra natures?" Hiashi thought for a minute. "Well, there are five basic elements: water, wind, fire, earth, and lightning. Most ninja are proficient with one or two, however there are few that can use three effectively." Hiashi paused as if thinking. "The Hyuuga clan hardly ever uses ninjutsu though. So I don't know much else that would help you."

Naruto frowned and nodded. "However," Hiashi continued, "I do know that Kakashi is adept at revealing the element that a ninja is naturally proficient with." Naruto perked up instantly. "Thank you sir. May I take your daughter to go see Kakashi with me?" Hiashi nodded and the two of them left the house in a hurry.

As soon as the mansion was no longer in sight, Hinata kissed Naruto, which made him blush. "When did you become so polite?" Naruto just smiled. "I figured that I will have to be on good terms with your father eventually, so I might as well start early." Hinata smiled and they searched the village for Kakashi.

**Hokage Mansion**

The Third sighed as he looked out the window at the village. He missed the peaceful days of his first years as Hokage. He looked around at the village as the sun started to rise. He knew that those days had come and gone. "Lord Hokage." The Third turned around to see a familiar face. "Ah, Miss Kurenai. What can I do for you?"

Kurenai didn't smile and shut the door behind her. She then sighed and looked down and away. "Lord Hokage, Team 8 is no longer available to be sent on missions. It has been disbanded." The Third stood silent. "May I ask what has happened?" Kurenai still could not look directly at him. She brought her gaze up to rest at the Hokage's neck, avoiding his eyes.

"Sir, I assume you know that Itachi Uchiha has been captured by the ANBU Black Ops." The Third nodded and replied, "And Naruto is going to save him. Am I correct?" Kurenai tensed instantly and looked at the Hokage. "How did you…" The Third smirked. "It is an obvious reaction, especially for one as courageous as Naruto."

Kurenai's tension eased a bit and she looked like she was about to collapse. "Lord Hokage, the rest of Team 8, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga, have decided to help him rescue Itachi." The Third sighed. He turned around and looked back out the window. He grasped at his arm, but he found nothing. He laughed nervously. He had forgotten that he had lost his arm to Orochimaru.

"What is your decision, Kurenai?" Kurenai kneeled before him. "My Lord, no matter how close I am to my team, my loyalty to the village and the ANBU comes first." The Third nodded in agreement. He brought a pipe out of his pocket and put it into his mouth. With a wave of his hand, a flame ignited and he blew a puff of smoke. "Young lady, I admire your loyalty, but I can tell that you are torn."

Kurenai looked up at the Third. He stood before her with the presence only a Hokage could sustain. Even with only one arm, he commanded more authority and respect than anyone in the village she knew. "I am." The Third nodded and smoked his pipe for a few more minutes.

"Do you believe he can do it?" The Third's question shook her. Did she believe that three newly-made chuunin could break through all of the defenses of the ANBU, rescue an S-Class criminal, and escape the grip of the head of the ANBU Black Ops, Danzo? "I've never known any ninja that would be able to infiltrate the Black Ops headquarters and live."

The Third Hokage smirked. "You avoided my question." Kurenai hesitated. "No. I trained them well, but they are not ready for this type of mission. They are not expert trackers, nor are they expert traplayers." The Hokage interrupted. "But Kurenai, isn't that the reason you chose them?" She was shocked and her eyes opened wide. He was right. She chose them because they had no specialty as a group, but rather a specialty as a group of individuals.

Kurenai looked down in shame and tears came to her eyes. "Miss Kurenai, you chose a fine team." He paused. "What I'm about to tell you will change the way you look at things." Kurenai wiped away her tears and stood before the Hokage.

The Hokage took a breath. "There is a conspiracy against me. It is no surprise, I have been Hokage for thirteen years more than I ought to have been. After the Fourth Hokage died, I was put back into office as a temporary replacement. There were several people who were unhappy about my reappointment, but the death of the Fourth compelled them to hold their tongues." Kurenai was puzzled. Why was he telling her this now?

He continued. "My spies have informed me about an overthrow that is being planned. It is said to come from the leader of the ANBU Black Ops." Kurenai was stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Kurenai, no matter how many people support me, I will be overthrown. I am past my prime and now that I have only one arm, I will be seen as unable to protect the village. It is just a matter of time."

Kurenai frowned. "Lord Hokage, why does Lord Danzo want to be the Fifth Hokage?" The Third sighed. "That is a story for another time. Listen to me, Danzo will be a tyrant. I know him too well. He is one who will abuse power." The Third made a few handsigns with his only hand and touched Kurenai's forehead. **"Seal Break."** There was a faint sound of something shattering like glass and Kurenai felt a wave crash over her. It felt as if a huge weight was lifted.

"Kurenai Yuuhi, you have been released from your oath to the ANBU Black Ops." It hit her like a wall. _*Released? Can he do that?*_ There were so many emotions that she could barely control herself. "Why, Lord Hokage?" He smiled. "Some time in the future, there will be a rebellion against Danzo led by none other than Naruto Uzumaki. I ask you to assure that he safely gets out of the village, and that you support him when he returns."

The world was spinning. Kurenai felt like her mind was being shredded and burned at the same time. "I'm sorry that I can't say more. Danzo will likely see my doing this as betrayal and will remove me once he has the support he needs." He turned to look at her. "This is not an order Kurenai, it is a request. Please, save the Hidden Leaf."

**Traning Ground 3**

Kakashi was breathing heavily. He had been training with Sakura and Kiba for days. Now that they were chuunin, he planned on taking them on much more dangerous missions. However, now that Sasuke had formally left the team and the Hidden Leaf, he was one member short. He sat down and after a minute or two of resting, he saw two familiar faces.

"Ah, Naruto, Hinata, how are the two of you?" They both smiled and walked closer. "Hey Kakashi, we are doing well. I actually have a question for you." Kakashi leaned back against a tree and sighed. "Oh?" The two of them stopped and looked at eachother, then back at Kakashi. "Sir, we heard that you can help us discover what our chakra natures are."

Kakashi stood and stretched his back. "I can, but that is an odd curiosity. The average ninja doesn't worry about chakra natures out of the blue. May I ask why?" Naruto gave a fake smile and said, "Well, I would like to learn a little bit of everything before I decide what I master." Hinata chimed in. "And I was wanting to learn a few elemental ninjutsu. The Hyuuga clan doesn't usually bother with anything that isn't traditional, but I'm different."

Kakashi nodded and thought for a moment. He put a hand behind his back and when it was visable again, he had little white pieces of paper in his hand. "What are those?" Naruto asked. "These," Kakashi said as he handed one to each of them, "are little things called chakra slips. When chakra passes through it, something happens to the paper. The nature of your chakra depends on what happens to the paper."

Naruto and Hinata held the slip delicately in their hands. Kakashi continued. "If the slip becomes wet, then you nature is water. Likewise, when the slip is burnt, cut, eroded, or charged, the chakra nature that passed through it is fire, wind, earth, and lightning respectively." Naruto nodded and looked at the slip in his hands.

"Go on, press the paper between your hands and channel your chakra thorugh it." The two of them nodded and did as Kakashi said. They must have stood there for over an hour because Naruto could tell that it was almost ten in the morning. When Naruto opened his hands, he was shocked. In the top of the paper was a slight cut. It was fine so he knew that it wasn't a tear.

"Ah, it looks like your nature is wind, Naruto." Hinata looked over at Naruto and the opened her hands. The paper was damp. "And it seems that Hinata's is water." The two of them looked at Kakashi expectantly. "Kakashi sir, could you help us use our natures?" Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I don't know anything about wind chakra. Actually I don't think I could use it half as effectively as you could after some training." Naruto frowned.

"However, water jutsu is one of my specialties, and I would be more than happy to teach you, Hinata." Hinata smiled and looked at Naruto. He nodded and Hinata walked up to Kakashi. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi seemed to smile behind his mask. "Naruto, there are only a few ninja in the Hidden Leaf that can use wind ninjutsu effectively. I would suggest seeing Asuma."

"Thank you sir." Naruto turned to look at Hinata. She frowned. "I will see you at the meeting place tonight." Naruto smiled and hugged her. He then kissed her and jumped off towards the Hidden Leaf. "Now then, let's get started shall we?" Hinata nodded and followed Kakashi.

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Naruto jumped from roof to roof in search of Asuma. He didn't really know much of Asuma's team. He knew Shikamaru pretty well from the mission the two of them went on a few months ago, but that was all. When Naruto finally found him, he dropped down behind Asuma. "Asuma, sir!" Asuma truned around to see young Naruto in his black outfit. "Naruto, what a…pleasant surprise."

Asuma carefully slid his hand down to his waist to check the kunai that he kept there. Naruto saw him and was ready for whatever would happen next. "Sir, I was wondering if you could teach me to use wind ninjutsu." Asuma hesitated. After learning about Naruto's affiliation with Itachi, Asuma kept his distance from him. Although there was no proof, Asuma believed that Naruto would turn out just like Itachi, a traitor.

"I'm sorry Naruto. You will have to look somewhere else for a tutor." He intentionally put a nasty ring on the last word. Naruto watched him suspiciously. Asuma lit a cigarrete and turned around slowly, obviously waiting for Naruto to attack. Naruto felt uneasy, but he turned and jumped up to the roof.

When Asuma was out of sight, Naruto let out a breath. He seriously thought that Asuma was going to attack him. A few streets over he saw Shikamaru. Naruto smiled and headed towards him. "Hey, Shikamaru!" He turned to see Naruto and smiled. Naruto landed in front of him and smiled. "Naruto, long time no see." Naruto nodded. "Yeah, same. What are you up to?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Actually nothing. I was just walking around trying to find something to do."

Naruto frowned. "I went to go see Asuma about teaching me how to use wind ninjutsu. He didn't seem happy to see me." Shikamaru nodded. "I think that what happened around the chuunin exams put him on edge, especially about you." Naruto shook his head. "You know I'm not a bad guy, right Shikamaru?" He laughed. "Of course I know that Naruto. I've known you long enough to see that you are everything a ninja of the Leaf should be."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Shikamaru. I'll see you later." Naruto turned to leave. "Hey, Naruto." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I could teach you how to use wind chakra." Naruto was shocked. "Really? I thought you use shadow type jutsu." Shikamaru nodded. "I do, but shadow ninjutsu is a branch off of wind. Though they aren't that similar, the basics should be the same." Naruto smiled. "Sweet, thanks Shikamaru!" He smiled. "No problem, now let's get started."

**Aburame Clan House**

Shino was hiding in the tree in his yard. His parents had set up a little exam for him to pass before they would recognize him as a chuunin. It was a family tradition. The last part of Shino's exam was today. He had to avoid being detected by his mother for four hours. He only had ten minutes to go and had almost been caught several times.

Shino knew his mother well though. She was not a pure tracker shinobi, so the challenge wasn't impossible. She was, however, a master of avoiding detection herself. She knew all the places to hide, all of the cheap tricks that could be used, and worst of all, she knew every nook and cranny of the Hidden Leaf like the back of her hand.

Being her son, Shino knew how she tracked and how she thought. He also knew that her insects tracked using scent, whereas his tracked using chakra. So, he did the most logical thing. He ran all over the Hidden Leaf, spreading his scent as much as he could, and then came back to hide at home. His mom would be busy searching everywhere he had been while he sat at home, where his scent was familiar and hard to isolate.

The ten minutes were up and Shino jumped down from the tree. When he landed, he almost fell backwards when he saw his mother standing just in front of where he landed. "Ah, there you are Shino." His mother said with a smile. "You did very well, but next time you should keep an eye on your tracker as well as yourself." Shino sighed and nodded. "Yes mother."

"Well then." She said. "Now that the exam is over and you are a chuunin in our eyes—we can trust you to keep an eye on things while we are gone." Shino's father appeared from behind the corner as he finished his wife's sentence. The two of them had a tendency to do that a lot. "What do you mean?" Shino asked.

"Your mother and I will be at a meeting in the Emerald Mountains for the next week-so we are counting you to watch over the house." Shino nodded. "I will do the best I can." His mother smiled. "There is a catch-the house will be on lockdown. So you will have to keep watch from the outside." His father continued.

"Alright mom, dad, I'll do my best." The two of them smiled. "Now it's my turn for news. This won't be easy to explain, but it is important that you know." His parents listened cautiously. "Team 8 has been disbanded. It was not intentional, but I knew that it would happen eventually. Itachi Uchiha was taken by the ANBU two days ago. Naruto has decided to go after them. As a teammate and a friend, I cannot let him do it alone."

Shino's mother was the first to speak. "Son, do you know what you are getting yourself into? If you help Naruto in this, you will be labeled as a traito to the Hidden Leaf!" Shino nodded. "And you still want to do this?" Shino nodded again. "Yes. Out of everything you two have taught me, perhaps the greatest thing was loyalty to my friends." His father talked now. "Yes, but Shino, we also taught you about loyalty to your village."

Shino sighed. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Father, I am loyal to the Hidden Leaf—Then why do you insist on attacking it!" His father finished. "Father, the Third Hokage has lost an arm, made decisions that most of the villagers question, and has all but sided with Itachi Uchiha. How long do you think he will still be allowed to lead?" His parents were stunned, but their son was right. The Third Hokage would be overthrown soon, it was just a matter of time.

Shino looked at his mother. "Mother, father, I am loyal to the Hidden Leaf Village that is led by the Third Hokage, but do you know who is next in line to succeed him?" His mother nodded. "The Head of the ANBU Black Ops, Danzo." Shino nodded. "I have my reasons to doubt his leadership and his plans for the Hidden Leaf. Please, trust me." Shino's father exchanged looks with his wife, then looked back at Shino. "We do trust you—" His mom started, "But we will stay loyal to the Hidden Leaf until that time comes."

It was the best answer Shino could hope for. "When were you planning to start the mission?" Shino looked at them. "It's scheduled for five days from now. It's all the time Naruto was given." His father nodded. "I see, you had better start training then." Shino smiled and shook his father's hand. The Aburame clan was not fond of full physical contact. "Thank you. I will do you proud." His mother spoke up. "You already have, Shino."

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto got back late. He and Shikamaru had trained all day and he could barely even conjure a breeze. There was nothing he could do though. He only planned one day for each thing on the list itachi had left him. He would just have to come back to wind chakra training later.

Naruto walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat. When he was done, he streched his limbs and walked into his room. He had not seen or heard from Hinata since he left her with Kakashi. As if reading his mind, Hinata dropped into the hideout. When she saw him, she smiled.

"Hinata, how did your training go?" She walked over to Naruto and hugged him. "It was awesome, watch." She released him and made a few handsigns. **"Water Style: Liquid Palm."** Slowly, her hands were covered in water. She walked over to a dummy and hit it a few times. The water stayed in place and continued to cover her hands. "It isn't much, it just covers my hands in water. But it's a start."

Naruto smiled. "That's great Hinata." She smiled. "How did your training go?" Naruto frowned. "Well, Asuma wouldn't help me, but Shikamaru was able to teach me a little bit. I can't do nearly as much as you can though." Hinata shrugged. "That's alright. Everyone learns at a different pace." Naruto nodded and walked into his room. Hinata followed him and when they got to his room, Naruto turned and kissed her. She was surprised but her arms instinctively wrapped around him. They fell on the bed and the door shut.

**Thank you all for reading. Before you get any ideas about that last scene remember that both Hinata and Naruto are only 13 so nothing too serious happens. Please Review and stay ready for day 3!**


	26. Day 3

**Hey all readers. I know the last chapter had a lot more plot instead of action and so will this one. Don't worry though, the action picks up near the end. So prepare for fights and new abilities in day 3!**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto woke to a sound in the kitchen. He hopped out of bed and grabbed a kunai from under his pillow. He cracked his door open and saw that the light in the kitchen was on. Along with the rattle of pans, he heard some muffled voices. He cursed to himself. _*How could I not have heard them?"_ In one fluid motion, he shoved open the door and ran into the kitchen. In a second, he was on top of whoever he ran into.

"Oh! Naruto you scared me." Naruto blushed as he realized that he had tackled and was now on top of Hinata. She smiled and then looked down to see his hand on her chest. She blushed and Naruto quickly got up and brought her to her feet. "Um, hehe sorry Hinata." Naruto scratched the back of his head. It was a nervous habit he still had not outgrown. Hinata smiled and hugged him. "It's good to see you too.

Naruto looked around the kitchen and saw Shino staring into the fridge. "Hey Shino, are you looking for something?" Shino shrugged. "You're out of cheese." Naruto laughed. "So what are you two doing here?" Hinata smiled and waved her hand toward the stove. "I decided that it was time someone made you breakfast. You havn't had much to eat since…" Hinata frowned and trailed off.

"I'm here to ask you something, Naruto." Naruto turned to Shino. "What is it?" Shino walked towards the table in the kitchen and sat down. "My parents are leaving the village for about a week and going to the Emerald Mountains. I was wondering if I could stay here until they return." Naruto nodded. "Of course you can Shino, that's what friends are for."

Shino smiled and Naruto frowned. "But you do know that by the time your parents get back…" Shino nodded. "I know, we will have completed our mission and will have to leave the Hidden Leaf. " Shino shifted in the chair nervously. "I have talked to my parents about the mission, and explained to them what I'm doing and why."

Naruto's body tensed up. "Shino, you know that by doing that there is a chance that the ANBU will hear about our plan." Shino stood straight and looked Naruto in the eye. "Naruto, my friend, you will have to trust me on this one. My parents are leaving tomorrow and I could not have them come back to find me gone." Naruto sighed. "I know…alright, let's get started."

Hinata interuppted. "But first, you have to eat Naruto. You won't get far on an empty stomache." Naruto smiled and they all sat down to eat. When they were finished, Naruto brought them into a side room. "This room was added just before the chuunin exams. I found it on accident yesterday." Hinata and Shino looked around in amazement. Every wall of the room was completely white. It was eerie and Hinata felt like she was falling when she looked down.

"Naruto, what is this room?" Naruto smiled. "Do you remember the charka slips that Kakashi gave to us yesterday?" Hinata'a mouth fell open. "You don't mean…" Naruto nodded. "Yes, this entire room is lined with chakra paper. The difference is that this room is encased in a neutral chakra. The chakra protectes the paper from fading, and it also makes the paper much more sensitive to elemental chakra."

Shino walked forward to touch the wall. The paper seemed to bend away from his hand. "I thought as well." Shino said. Naruto looked over to him and saw how the wall reacted. "What is it doing Shino?" Shino pulled his hand back. "When an Aburame is born, there is a period of time when insects must be introduced into the baby's body. It is a clan tradition that has been kept for decades." Shino eyed the wall and then turned back to Naruto. "However, a lot of things can go wrong in that time. The child might have a defect, or it might not have enough chakra to be a host for the insects that the parents choose."

Naruto stepped toward Shino. "Where are you going with this?" Shino continued. "When the child is introduced to the insects, they strip away its chakra nature. That is why the paper reacts to my hand this way. I don't have a chakra nature." Naruto looked at him with bewilderment. "No chakra nature? Does that mean that you have a neutral nature?"

Shino frowned. "Yes, but something about this room is strange. You said that it is encased in a neutral chakra, but that is not possible." Naruto walked over to the paper and touched it. The paper turned green. "What do you mean?" Shino shrugged. "Every child is born with an inherant chakra nature that can eventually be tapped and used. However, when you have no nature, it can't be used…Unless."

Hinata walked up now. "Unless what ,Shino?" Shino started to shake. "There was a report in the Aburame library, in the codex pages. It said that an unusual child was born some time ago. It didn't list a gender, but it said that when introduced to the insects, the child had an aura that acted as a repellent. He was born with a neutral chakra nature!"

Naruto was nervous. "What are you saying Shino?" Shino put his hand on the wall again, and it bent away from his hand. "I'm saying that the only person that could have constructed this barrier of neutral chakra is that same child." Hinata gasped and Shino turned to Naruto. "Naruto, there are only two reasonable things that could be true, either Itachi knows that ninja…" Shino paused.

Naruto finished. "Or he is the ninja." The room was silent. The three of them stood glancing at eachother. Naruto was the first to speak. "I don't mean to be rude, but we have to put this off for now, Shino." Shino nodded. "I agree. We can worry about it later. What's on the list for today?" Naruto took out the scroll that held Itachi's letter. "The next item on the list is 'Imbueing weapons with chakra'."

Shino smiled. "Looks like that one is meant for only you. Hinata and I don't use weapons." Naruto nodded and looked towards Hinata, then back at Shino. "Hey Shino, your insects can adept to resist somethnig if they are exposed to it for a long time right?" Shino nodded. "How long does it take them to adapt?"

Shino thought for a minute. "The insects themselves don't adapt, but when they produce offspring they pass on a gene that grants resisitence and sometimes immunity to whatever the parent had faced. It's a continual process." Naruto nodded. "And how long would it take to make your entire swarm immune to, let's say, water?" Both Shino and Hinata looked at Naruto like he was crazy.

"Naruto, what are you planning?" Hinata asked as she looked at him. Shino answered, "It would take at least a month, and that would be a month of fighting against a water style user all day, everyday." Naruto sighed. "Alright, we can at least get a start on it." He turned to look at Hinata. "Hinata, since I need to learn how to imbue my weapons with wind, can you learn to use water a little more and spar with Shino?"

Hinata tilted her head as if curious. _*Damn she was cute!*_ Naruto pushed that thought aside as he waited for her response. "Sure, I can try." Naruto smiled and so did Hinata. "Great, Shino it will be about two hours before either of us are ready." Shino nodded. "I understand. I will gather some information about the ANBU while you train." Naruto smiled. "Thanks Shino." Shino nodded and headed out.

Naruto and Hinata walked back into the room lined with chakra paper. "There is something else that his room is designed to do." Hinata said. Naruto looked at her curiously as she continued. "When I hit the wall," Hinata said as she smacked the wall, "it bounces back, but when I hit it with chakra…" Water formed over Hinata's palm and when she struck the wall, the wall turned blue. When she pulled her hand away, the amount of water on Hinata's hand grew slightly larger.

Naruto looked in amazement. "It returns the chakra back to you." Hinata nodded. "Not only that, it also increased the amount of elemental chakra I can hold in my hand. Naruto, training in this room will make our training two, maybe three times more effective!" Naruto smiled. "That's great! Let's get to work." Hinata nodded and they started using the walls as punching bags.

**Hidden Leaf Village**

Shino walked around the ANBU Headquarters carefully. He knew that if he tried to sneak around he would instantly be caught. The ninja of the ANBU were very effective at detecting people that tried to be stealthy. As he walked around, he noted where the guards where stationed. "It seems that the most heavily fortified walls are the sides and back. That means that the only side that would be reasonable to launch an assault on would be the front."

Shino walked over to the front and saw the two guards stationed at the top of the stairs. The ANBU Headquarters was a strangly pronounced building. It was obvious from first glance that the building was not meant to be a hiding place, but rather a giant obelisk that was meant to strike fear into whomever wished the village harm. The building was shaped like a giant pyramid with steep slopes on every side. The top of the building appeared to be flat, most likely trap-filled battleground.

Shino looked at the front again. "Only a fool would charge the front of that building, and only an even bigger fool would try the sides." Shino sighed. He had to find a way in. He noticed that the guards alternated. Some stood in one location and waited to be relieved while others patroled different sections of the building. Shino also noticed that despite being on the edge of the village with its back to the forest, there was not a single tree within fifty paces of the building. That means that there would be no sneaking up on the ANBU.

Shino continued his walk around the building. He scanned the base of it and didn't notice any cracks or hinges that ould be a hidden door. _*There has to be more than one way inside that building.*_ Shino released a few insects. If he used too many the ANBU would suspect something. The insects flew towards the building and started scanning every inch of it.

A few flew in the front door. Within seconds, Shino sensed his insects dying. One by one, as if hitting a wall, his insects fell. Shino sighed and sat down next to a tree. This was going to be a harder job than he thought, and even before this he thought it was impossible. "Well, shit."

**Somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village**

Danzo stood in front of Itachi. "It has been awhile Itachi." Danzo stared him in the eyes and looked him over. "You don't look too well. Have you been enjoying the cell?" Itachi said nothing and looked away. He wasn't in a position to fight. The shackles kept him against the wall and he couldn't even stand.

Danzo became annoyed. "You know why you are here. You betrayed the Hidden Leaf Village and killed dozens of shinobi in their sleep." Danzo laughed. "I admit I would have done the same, but maybe not for the reasons you did it. Why did you do it Itachi? Did you desire power? Fame? Money?" Danzo stopped as a messenger ninja appeared behind him. "I guess it doesn't matter. Your life will end soon."

"Lord Danzo, Shino Aburame is circling the building. We believe he is trying to find a way in. Itachi swore to himself but Danzo didn't catch it. "An Aburame? What is he doing?" The messenger ninja replied. "Sir, we believe he is scanning the hideout in order to find a way for Naruto Uzumaki to get in."

"Is that so?" Danzo chuckled and looked back at Itachi. "Looks like your student has recruited some help. This is juicy; I can almost taste what will happen. Naruto the Nine-Tails recruits his friends of the Hidden Leaf to help rescue his mentor, the Killer of the Uchiha Clan, Itachi Uchiha." Danzo licked his lips. "Very well, make sure they know how to get in." The ninja nodded and disappeared.

"Looks like my plan is taking form. Naruto and his friends will come to rescue you and be greeted with open arms into their death. Then I will start rumors about the Third Hokage being soft on rogue ninjas and blame the failed rescue attempt on him. The people of the Hidden Leaf will question his authority and demand that you be executed." Danzo gave an evil smile. "And once I give them what they want, they will accept me as their new Hokage."

Itachi sighed. "You are insane, that plan will never work." Danzo looked at Itachi and tilted his head as if taunting a cat. "Ohhh, is Itachi Uchiha claiming that he is better at strategizing than I am?" Danzo laughed and Itachi sat motionless. "You must have more than one plan. A backup perhaps?"

Danzo thought about it but before he could respond, Itachi continued. "I heard you talking about making Naruto do something every ninja dreads. What is that exactly?" Danzo smirked. "Simple, I am going to make Naruto fight you. You will be so weak from chakra exhaustion that even an emotionally distraut Naruto could finish you off. Then Naruto will be broken and submit to me."

Danzo paused. "Now that I think about it, I like that idea much more. Thank you for reminding me Itachi." Itachi cursed. Danzo walked over to him. He was so close that Itachi could feel his breath. "Itachi—" Before Danzo could finish, Itachi lashed out. His fist came crashing into Danzo's face and Danzo stumbled backwards. "How?!" Itachi brought his arms up and rubbed where the shackles were.

"I know how to escape simple shackles, I just needed to have enough time to recover chakra." Itachi smirked. **"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"** A massive fireball flew towards Danzo and he deflected it with his arm. Itachi rushed at him and tried to tackle Danzo. However Danzo was ready. **"Water Style: Water Prison."** Just like that, Itachi was caught once again. "Dammit!" Itachi cursed as the light started to fade. _*I didn't have enough chakra, I'm sorry Naruto.* _Just before Itachi fainted, he saw a small black mass in the corner of the cell and smiled. Then, he saw nothing.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto and Hinata were both panting. They had been training for two hours straight and still had plenty of chakra thanks to the special room. However, the room did not give them more stamina. Naruto sat down to rest. "Hinata, we've been training for awhile. Let's take a break." Hinata nodded in agreement and sat down next to him.

When Hinata's breathing returned to normal, she sighed. "Naruto, do you really believe that we can rescue Itachi?" Naruto turned to look at Hinata. "Of course I do. That's what we've been training for isn't it?" Hinata nodded. "It's just that the ANBU are the top ninja in the village. They are trusted to protect the Hokage. Don't you think we are just a little outmatched?"

Naruto frowned. "Of course we are outmatched, not to mention outnumbered." Hinata frowned. "But we have something that the ANBU doesn't have, something that their members are trained to supress." Hinata looked at Naruto expectantly and he smiled. "We have emotions, pride, fear, joy, friendship—" Naruto paused and looked at Hinata. "And love."

Hinata blushed while Naruto continued. "They may not seem like much, but without emotions we are not human. Pride will cause us to act; fear will cause us to think; joy will cause us to believe; friendship will cause us to work as a team—" Naruto paused as if thinking. He stood up and his fist became encased in green wind chakra. "And Love will cause us to succeed!"

He drew back his fist and hit the wall. The entire room turned bright green and resonated with sound. Hinata shivered as she felt a breeze sweep through the room. She smiled and stood up. She walked over to Naruto and hugged him. "Thank you Naruto. I should never have doubted." Naruto chuckled. "I have had my doubts too, but what I learned from Itachi-sensei is that sometimes you have to believe the impossible to make it become possible."

Hinata smiled and the two of them turned around when they heard a noise in the hideout. "Naruto, Hinata, I'm back." Shino walked into the main hall and met them as they walked out of the charka room. "Hey Shino, what's the news" Naruto asked. Shino shook his head. "It's not good. The entire building is fortified. Guards patrol heavily on every side with the exception of the front. The front is also littered with traps. The wall has no weak spots and there are no signs of hidden entrances." Naruto frowned and Hinata grabbed his hand to comfort him.

"However, one of my insects discovered a hidden passage that links the important buildings of the Hidden Leaf through underground tunnels." Naruto looked up and his face was filled with hope. "You mean that you found a way in!?" Shino nodded. "Yes, but it is a very tricky passage. There are many paths that lead to dead-ends and all of the entrances are heavily guarded with the exception of one."

Hidden Leaf Village. Shino pointed at it. "The entrances are: the Hokage Mansion, the ANBU Headquarters, The Hokage Mountain, and the front gate of the village." Naruto nodded. "Alright, which one has the least amount of guards?"

Shino pointed to the map again. "Here, the Hokage Mountain. There are usually only two guards stationed there at a time. If we can get past them, we are in." Naruto nodded. "Thanks, good work Shino." Shino smiled. "No problem Naruto. How far have you two gotten with your chakra natures?" Hinata smirked and looked at Naruto who gave her a signal.

She walked over to the dummy that was in the middle of the room and dropped down into her clan's stance. Her hands then become enveloped in water. **"Water Style: Hard Water Palm!"** Hinata struck the dummy and it flew back and hit the wall. Shino was astonished. "Whoa." The dummy was perfectly intact with the exception of where Hinata struck it. The was a hole slightly larger than her palm that was perfectly carved out of the dummy. There was also a circle shaped dent in the dummy around where Hinata hit.

Hinata turned to look at them and smiled. "I held myself back." Shino's jaw dropped. "Hinata, that is amazing." She blushed and looked at Naruto who scratched his head. "Yeah, it is. It's a lot more than I can do right now." He laughed nervously. Shino looked over at Naruto, then back at Hinata. "I guess it's time to train my insects then."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, and while you two do that I'm going to train with this." Naruto grabbed a knife off of his hip. It didn't look like a normal kunai. It was more like a hand grip with a single-sided blade. "What is that Naruto?" Hinata asked. "It was labeled as a chakra blade when I found it in the weapon room. Shikamaru told me that it is supposed to be easier to imbue chakra into a blade that was made for it."

Hinata tilted her head as Naruto concentrated. He poured his chakra into the blade and it had a faint green glow. Then it stopped as Naruto closed his eyes. "It didn't work? What did I do wrong?" Naruto thought for a minute and Hinata spoke up. "Kurenai-sensei once told me that Asuma mentioned a trick to getting wind chakra to work. She said something about making the wind grind against itself."

Naruto nodded and looked down at the blade. He poured more chakra into it and then imagined that the chakra was grinding against itself. The blade glowed bright green as the chakra swirled around it. "Alright, let's try this." Naruto said to himself. He ran towards a dummy made out of branches and slashed at it. It was instantly cut in half. Naruto looked in awe and turned to see if Shino and Hinata saw it too. The two of them were already training though and had their backs to him.

Naruto shook a little. _*There is so much more power to this than I thought.*_ He then turned to a solid oak statue. He slashed and one again, the statue was cut in half. There were no splinters or debris. Just two whole pieces. Naruto smiled and turned his eyes on a steel statue. He charged it and slashed. The knife stuck in the statue after cutting only an inch. Naruto sighed. _*I guess everything has its limitations.*_

He then remembered something. His goal wasn't to imbue chakra to this blade, but to his blades, Claw and Serra. Naruto grinned just thinking about it. He quickly ran over to the weapon room and walked inside. He looked around and found his blood scroll. Naruto picked it up and carried it out to the main hall.

Shino and Hinata were both still training hard. Naruto smiled. _*They are trying so hard for me. It's time I try hard too!*_ Naruto placed the scroll on the ground and unsealed it. He took both swords in his hands and immediately tried to pour his chakra into them. A faint green chakra started to surround the weapons. Naruto smiled. _*Yeah, this is what I'm talking about!*_

The effect didn't last long as the chakra faded from the blades. Naruto was confused. "I guess I don't have enough control to use both at the same time. It does take a lot of practice." Naruto sighed and decided that he would use claw first. He placed Serra on the ground and held the hook blade, Claw, in his left hand. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the blade in his hand. He felt his chakra pour out onto the blade.

_*Now I just grind the chakra against itself…*_ Naruto felt a breeze on his left hand and opened his eyes. He stared in awe as he saw a dark green aura surrounding Claw. Naruto smiled and looked over at the stone statue. He charged with Claw and tightened his grip. He brought the hook around the statue and pulled, but there was no resistance. Claw cut right through the stone like it was butter. Naruto's hand trembled as he looked at Claw. _*Is this the power of wind chakra?*_

"_**Oh no, this is just the top branch of a very tall tree, Naruto."**_ Naruto tensed up and he looked around for the source of the voice. Hinata and Shino were still sparring and he would have recognized their voice. _**"What? Did you forget about me already?" **_Naruto remembered now. _*Are you the Nine-tails?*_ He could sense that the voice smiled at him.

"_**Oh, so you do remember. Keep in mind that my own chakra nature is wind. I could help you break Itachi out; it would be sooo easy."**_ Naruto hesitated. _*Itachi-sensei warned me about you. I'm sorry, but I will not use your help. I can do this on my own.*_ Naruto felt and uneasiness in his stomach. _**"Is that so? I never expected you to be so confident when most of your power comes from me."**_ Naruto shook his head. _*You are wrong. My power is my own. You only helped once and even then we barely managed to get away. I am much stronger now. We will talk later.*_

Naruto felt his body ease up as the voice went back to sleep. He took a deep breath and walked over to his saw-like blade, Serra. He put Claw down and picked up Serra with his right hand. "Well, here goes nothing." Naruto poured his chakra into the blade and imagined the chakra grinding against itself. In seconds the blade was covered in dark green chakra.

The aura surrounding the blade looked and felt different from the time he imbued Claw. Naruto hesitated and moved his hand slightly. The ground beneath the blade dented and split causing Naruto to jump back. "Naruto, are you alright?" Shino said as both him and Hinata ran over to Naruto. Naruto shook a bit and nodded. "Yeah…I'm ok."

Hinata walked over to Naruto and put her hand out. Naruto turned around and hugged her while continuing to shake. "Naruto, you don't look so good." Naruto started to breath deeply to calm himself down. "I'm ok, it's just been a very long time since i've been scared like that." Hinata hugged him and then Naruto let go and walked over to Serra. "Naruto, look at the floor." Naruto and Hinata both looked to where Shino was pointing.

The floor was made out of solid stone and yet it looked as though the chakra cut through it so easily. The dent in the floor was slightly bigger than the blade itself and the pattern in the floor matched the saw part of the blade. Shino stared in awe. "Naruto, it looks like the chakra on the blade was shot into the ground. It didn't have much force, but that wind chakra was strong nough to put a dent in the floor and crack it."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping to spar with these two while they were cloaked in chakra, but that is obviously out of the question. I can't risk using them, not if they do this much damage without force behind them." Shino nodded and Naruto picked up Serra again. This time he didn't imbue it with chakra and turned to Shino and Hinata. "I want to try one more time, but it has to be outside where no one will get hurt."

Both of them nodded and followed Naruto outside. When they were out, Naruto pointed to a boulder. "Use that as cover just in case." Hinata and Shino obeyed and hid behind the boulder. So they would still see what would happen, Hinata activated her Byakugan and Shino spread a few insects around him.

Naruto held the blade in both hands this time so he could control it better. He slowly poured his chakra into Serra and held the blade up on his right side. He then imagined that the chakra was grinding against itself and the blade turned dark green. Naruto took a breath and slashed diagonally as fast as he could.

Any hope of this being a silent weapon vanished instantly. The wind summoned from the blade traveled umbelievably fast and sounded liked and explosion. It ripped through trees, snapped branches and gathered leaves into a whirlwind. Everything in it's path was destroyed and all it left was ruin. Before the wave disappated, Naruto fell to his knees. In an instant, Hinata and Shino were on either side of him, holding him up. "I used a lot of chakra." Hinata was saying something but Naruto couldn't hear her. His ears were still ringing from the explosion. "I'll call it, **Razor Bomb**." The wind from the blast vanished as he said it's name and he fell to the groun.

**Well that's it for this chapter! Hope you all liked it. Will this be enough to rescue Itachi or not? We will just have to see. Thank you to all the readers that are being patient with me. It takes awhile to get the motivation to type a chapter even when I have an outline. Until next time, ja ne.**


	27. Day 4

**Hey all readers! I'm ready to start day 4. This chapter is more plot again. Sorry that the plot is taking a lot of room but I want it to unfold nice and slowly. I don't want to rush. I found a story disturbingly similar to mine. It's pretty good but hard to read. It's called **The Rise of the New Whirlpool: Ascension.** Anyways, on to day 4!**

**Somewhere**

Naruto opened his eyes and looked around. He jumped up and reached for a kunai, but it wasn't there. He was in an unfamiliar room. The walls were waving back and forth. It looked like the walls were waves of an ocean, but everything was blurred. He took a few steps and found that he could keep his balance. "Is anyone there?" Naruto asked as he cautiously walked forward. _*Am I under a genjutsu?*_

Naruto shook his head. "No, this must be a dream. I've never heard of a genjutsu that can do this." Naruto walked around and the room started to become clearer. He was in the Uchiha Hideout, in the main room. Naruto's eyes grew big as he saw someone in the hideout. He looked like Itachi! But this Itachi was wearing an Akatsuki cloak. Naruto tried to say something, but no words came out.

All he was able to do was watch. Itachi had Naruto's blood scroll in his hand. He laid it on the floor and took out a smalled scroll. Itachi made a few handsigns and placed one hand on the small scroll and one on the big scroll. The small scroll disappeared. _*I think I'm watching the past. Itachi just put his instructions inside my scroll. But why is he wearing that cloak? I thought he refused the Akatsuki's offer.*_ Naruto waited to see what else Itachi would do.

Itachi took off the cloak and set it on the great obsidian chair. He then removed the picture that was on the wall to reveal a secret storage hole. Itachi then put the cloak into the hole and replaced the picture. _*There is no way…It must be my mind playing tricks on me."_ Naruto wanted to see more but everything started to get blurry again and he fainted.

**Uchiha Hideout.**

Naruto rolled out of bed, but instead of going to the kitchen as he usually does, he walked over to the great obsidian chair in the main hall. _*I had a dream about this chair.*_ Naruto looked all around it and noticed a picture on the wall behind the chair. It was just low enough that he could touch the bottom of it.

He lifted the picture and it almost fell to the ground. He caught it and leaned it against the wall. Naruto looked up and stumbled backwards. His back hit the chair as his eyes widened. Inside the little hole behind the picture, was an Akatsuki cloak.

Naruto was speechless. _*Why is an Akatsuki cloak behind this picture?Why does it look like it would fit Itachi-sensei?*_ His head was being flooded by questions but Naruto stayed calm and thought for a few minutes. _*There is no reason to panic. All I know is that this cloak was hidden in the hideout. I don't know when or why.*_ Naruto took a deep breath and lifted the picture. He put it back to cover the cloak that he had found.

"Now I remember." Naruto said to himself. "In my dream, Itachi-sensei put that cloak there. But why did he have it?" Naruto was fighting emotions inside of him when he heard a voice. "Naruto, it's good to see that you are up already." Naruto turned around to see Shino, who was helping himself to some fruit. "Oh, Shino." Naruto laughed nervously. "I forgot you were staying here." Shino shook his head. "Honestly Naruto, I think that you would forget your head if it wasn't attached." Both Naruto and Shino laughed.

Now that Naruto thought about it, Shino had been his best friend for as long as he can remember. Even back in the academy he could remember Shino being one of the few that didn't fear him or hate him. Naruto smiled. "I'm glad you decided to stick with me Shino. You didn't have to."

Shino smiled tilted his head to both sides, popping his neck. "Yeah well, someone has got to look out for you." Naruto laughed. Shino was not the same boy that Naruto met a few years ago. He no longer kept to himself. He was happier, more outgoing. Naruto liked that. "Shino, I found something behind that picture on the wall."

Shino looked up at the picture. "What did you find?" Naruto didn't hesitate. "I found an Akatsuki cloak." Shino was stunned. He took a minute to find what he wanted to say. "Who's do you think it is?" Naruto shrugged. "The only person it could belong to is Itachi-sensei, but he turned down their offer a long time ago."

Shino nodded and stretched his limbs. "Do you think the cloak came with the offer?" Naruto stopped looking at the picture and got some fruit from the kitchen. "It's possible, but there's only one way to know for sure."

"Actually, there are two ways." Naruto and Shino both froze. To Naruto, it was an all too familiar voice. In one swift motion, he turned and brought out two kunai, one in each hand. Shino took the hint and had insects swarm his body. They hovered around him, waiting to strike. Naruto spoke first. "What do you want, Yugao?"

**Hokage Mansion**

The Third was sitting in his chair sorting through papers. He sighed and stood up to look out the window. There was a knock at the door. "Come in." The Hokage said. He heard pairs of footsteps enter the room and then he heard the door shut. He looked at his assistant. "Put a barrier around this room. I want it to be sound-proof and unpenetrable by both sight and sensory jutsus. Anything extra you can think of should be added as well."

His assistant nodded and quickly walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Within moments a sheet of what looked like blue glass covered the room. "I'm glad you could all make it." The Third turned around to see the ninja he invited to this conference. "I assure you, this meeting requires the utmost security and secrecy. Should anything discussed here leave this room before the proper time, the entire Hidden Leaf Village will suffer."

This caught everyone's attention. A few of them shifted uncomfortably. "You have our attention." Kakashi said as he spoke for everyone. The Hokage nodded. "Good, I assume you all know eachother, but just in case let us start with formal introductions. The Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang and leader of Team 7." Kakashi stepped forward.

"The Blue Beast of the Leaf ,Might Guy, a taijutsu expert and leader of Team Guy." Guy stepped forward with a serious look on his face. "My son, Asuma Sarutobi, leader of Team 10." Asuma stepped forward and took out a cigarrete, but he decided not to light it. "The genjutsu expert, Kurenai Yuuhi, leader of Team 8." Kurenai stepped forward. She knew what this meeting was about, and could not believe that the Third Hokage would take things this far. The Head of the Hyuuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuuga." Hiashi stepped forward and nodded. "Lastly, one of the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, sensei of the Fourth Hokage." Jiraiya stepped forward. He seemed impatient but was curious about this meeting.

"I have called you all here to discuss the future of the Hidden Leaf. You are the top shinobi I trust and I am entrusting you with very sensative information. Understood?" All of them nodded and stood ready. "Excuse me Sarutobi-sensei, what exactly is this meeting about." Jiraiya spoke so casually that it put the others on edge. The Third ealked out from behind his desk and stood in front of the ninja he had gathered.

"It appears that the peace that lies within the Hidden Leaf will not last much longer. There is someone conspiring to take over as the new Hokage, and he is willing to use force." Kurenai frowned and Hiashi stepped forward. "Lord Hokage, what do you mean? Who would have motivation to overthrow you?"

Jiraiya knew where this was going. "It's Danzo isn't it?" All of the shinobi that gathered looked at him, with the exception of Kurenai. The Third nodded. "Yes, it seems that he has been planning for awhile now, hiding in shadows and waiting for the opportunity to strike." Kakashi spoke now. "Lord Hokage, are you sure of this? I find it hard to believe that the head of the orginazation created to protect the village would want to remove its leader."

"It's true." Everyone turned to Kurenai. "If you think about what has happened in the past few years, specifically when dealing with Naruto Uzumaki and Itachi Uchiha, then it is not hard to see that everything looks like it was setup to be this way." Asuma flipped the cigarrette from finger to finger. "Kurenai, can you please explain?"

Kurenai was getting ready to speak when the Hokage stopped her. "My actions leading up to this day are being questioned by the ANBU, and they have spread rumors to the rest of the village. They think I was too soft on Itachi because I didn't enlist a large force to capture him. They believe that I am no longer able to rule because they cannot see the reasons behind my actions. I let Itachi walk away after it was discovered that he had been training Naruto in secret. I didn't make any attempt to keep Naruto in the village and away from Itachi. I even pardoned Itachi for his involvement in the massacre, however that was directed towards him specifically, not those who were listening. All of my actions can be twisted to make me seem to be putting the village in danger"

"That is crazy!" Guy started. "You are the Third Hokage, you have been with this village longer than most of us have been allive. How can people believe that you are not fit to be the Hokage?" Hiashi interuppted. "Now hold on, let's here more about what happened with Itachi and Naruto. Why did you do what you did Lord Hokage?" The Third sighed and sat at his desk.

"The night of the Uchiha Massacre, Itachi Uchiha was under my orders." This shocked everyone except Jiraiya, who had already heard his share of this story. "What do you mean Lord Hokage? You ordered Itachi to kill his clan?!" Hiashi was in an uproar but was able to calm himself down so he could get an answer.

"I did not order the massacre. In fact, it was a simple recon mission. But I am still responsible for the lives lost that day. Itachi was to go with his partner and investegate the disappearence of the scroll that contained the secrets to the shadow clone jutsu. His partner was sick that day, so he decided to go alone. But he found something much worse. Upon entering the Uchiha compund, he discovered that his father was the one that stole the scroll. His plan was simple. He was going to kill his father and take the scroll back, that was, until he found out what the real plan was."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What was the real plan?" Jiraiya walked forward and put his hand on the Third's shoulder. The Hokage had been holding on to this secret for as long as he could, and that was too long. "The plan," Jiraiya continued, "was to take over the Hidden Leaf Village. Itachi's father thought that the strongest clan in the village should rule. So he decided that only one thing was stronger than an Uchiha's eyes, and that was multiple sets of Uchiha eyes. The Uchiha clan only accounted for less than a sixth of the total population of the village. So he wanted to teach all of them shadow clone jutsu."

Hiashi interuppted. "How can that be? It is common knowledge that no one with doujutsu can learn the shadow clone technique because it will destroy their eyes. The Hyuuga clan tried that a decade ago." Jiraiya nodded. "That is true, once a ninja with a doujutsu such as the sharingan or the byakugan uses the shadow clone jutsu, their eyes are destroyed. However, Itachi's father discovered that the eyes can only be destroyed once. Knowing that, he decided to make an elite killing team. They were to kill Uchiha members in secret and steal their eyes. Once an Uchiha used the shadow clone technique, their eyes would be replaced by those of a fellow clan member. It was despicable."

Everyone in the room was silent. No one knew what to say, until Guy spoke. "So, the massacre of the Uchiha clan was actually a successful attempt to protect the village?" The Third nodded. "Well I'm not buying it." Everyone looked to Hiashi waiting for him to continue. "If Itachi was innocent of the crime, why didn't you defend him at the time it happened Lord Hokage?" Jiraiya moved towards Hiashi but the Hokage stopped him and shook his head.

"If you were in my place on that day Hiashi, what would you have said to the village? Would you tell them that Itachi Uchiha, who just killed his entire clan with the exception of his younger brother, is a good guy and saved the village? Would you say that he was under your orders when he murdered dozens of his own clansmen?" The Third started to get angry. "Would you say that their lives did not matter as long as you were safe?!"

Hiashi flinched as the Hokage stood up. He was regretting his words now. "What would you say, Hiashi Hyuuga?" Jiraiya could sense that the Hokage was on the edge of insanity and tried to calm him down, but the Hokage smacked his hand away. "What. Would. You. Say?" Hiashi was paralyzed. He didn't know. How could he know how hard it was to be Hokage during a disaster.

The Hokage took a deep breath and sat back down. "I don't know what I would do." Hiashi said, dissapointed in himself. The Third nodded and spoke with his normal voice again. "I did what I thought was right. Now, it is coming back to haunt me. All of our decisions will effect the future. I truly believe that I saved the Hidden Leaf from civil war that day."

The Hokage sighed. "But now, we are on the verge of an overthrow. Danzo will take my place as Hokage, forcefully if he has to." All of the shinobi were silent for awhile. It was the deathly silence that came before a storm. "However, we have hope." All of the ninja looked at him with wide eyes.

"Lady Kurenai has already heard this part, but I am entrusting you all with what I have to say. This plan of mine will keep the Hidden Leaf from civil war and stop the tyranny of Danzo. It involves a certain young boy who dreams of being Hokage. Naruto Uzumaki is our hope. If there is anyone in this room who would like to back out now, you are welcome to leave. We will think no less of you."

Everyone looked at eachother. Jiraiya stepped forward first. "I'm in no matter what. I will not see the village fall to ruin." Kurenai stepped forward next. "I have already agreed to do this, and I will happily stick with my decision." Asuma and Guy both stepped forward at the same time. "We are in." The Third nodded and started to smile as Kakashi stepped up. "If Naruto holds the fate of the village in his hands, I will gladly die to help him succeed."

Everyone looked towards Hiashi now. He hesitated and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he stepped forward. "I will protect Naruto. Not only because he must save the village, but also because he is precious to my daughter." The Third nodded and took out his pipe. "Good, now listen carefully as I can only saw this once."

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto and Shino were glaring at Yugao. Yugao put her hands up showing that she had no weapons. "I'm not here to fight Naruto. I'm just here to talk." Naruto kept his kunai out and ready. "Why don't I believe you?" Yugao then put her hands back to her sides and took out a kunai. She threw it to the ground in front of her. She did this with all of her weapons until the ground before her was littered with steel.

"There, I have no weapons left. You may kill me if you want, but please hear me out." Naruto hesitated and lowered his kunai, but kept them out. "You've got ten minutes, which is more time than I should give you." Yugao nodded and took off her mask. She was beautiful. Her hair hung loose around her face and her bangs were just low enough to touch the top of her eyes.

Naruto noticed that she was tense. Her muscles moved like they were rocks grinding against eachother. "Naruto, I have come to ask you a favor." Naruto stared at her and gripped his kunai a little tighter. "You ask a favor of a ninja whose sensei you hunted?" Naruto grunted in disgust.

Yugao didn't approach, nor did she fall to her knees. "Naruto, please save Itachi." Naruto was caught off guard and almost dropped his kunai. Shino let his insects fall to the floor and they scurried back into his coat. Naruto looked at her with a confused look. "You want me to save the man you captured?" Yugao looked down at the floor. "Please Naruto. He is very important to me. You have to understand that I was under orders."

Naruto turned around and walked towards the great obsidian chair. He sat in it for the first time and folded his hands in his lap, just like Itachi would. He felt a strange power coming from the chair, but he ignored it. "I will save Itachi-sensei." Yugao looked up with surprise. "But, you havn't convinced me to save him for you."

Yugao frowned and noticed how powerful this boy looked when sitting on a black throne. Even for a 13-year old, Naruto had an aura around him that suggested that he knew what he was doing, and that he could do it no matter who got in the way. "Naruto, I love Itachi Uchiha." Naruto flinched in his seat and had to struggle to keep his mouth closed. He had to look powerful right now, not weak.

Shino felt out of place. This wasn't his fight. Not unless Yugao attacked. Naruto sat still and thought about what Yugao could be planning. _*What could she gain by lying to me? Is she telling the truth? Was she being manipulated, or was she the one pulling the strings here?*_ Naruto took a deap breath. "Yugao, why does Itachi mean so much to you?"

Yugao shifted uncomfortably. She had never had to explain her relationship with Itachi to anyone before. "He was one of my only friends in the ANBU. Itachi threw himself in the line of fire to save me multiple times. He wasn't like the other ANBU who cared only about following orders. He cared about his friends." Yugao started to tremble. She felt so vulnerable, and yet she was talking to a 13-year old boy about her relationships.

"Itachi went out of his way to protect me. Once I saw that, I approached him about it. Being protected annoyed me so much. I don't like relying on others to help me do something. And yet, when I told this to Itachi, he laughed. It wasn't mocking, and he wasn't laughing at me. He said: 'a true ninja relies on his teammates more than anything else. No matter what anyone else says, orders or not, your teammates should be more important to you than your life.' That's what he said to me that day."

Naruto trembled. _*That sounds like Itachi alright.*_ He thought he saw a tear in Yugao's eye. "And yet, I can't follow his words. Danzo had all members of the Black Ops put under a seal when they took the oath. He started this on the same night that Itachi left. I didn't know where he went or what he did." Yugao started crying openly now. She couldn't hold them back anymore. Naruto was touched.

Yugao pulled herself together before continuing. "The seal does two things. It prevents members of the ANBU from speaking of any secrets of the organization to anyone except other members. The other thing it does is prevent us from acting against the will of the caster of the jutsu." Naruto clenched his fists. He had heard enough. "Yugao…" She looked up and stared at Naruto.

"I will rescue Itachi. But you have to promise me something." Yugao nodded. "I'll try." Naruto blinked and thought he noticed something. A scene played through his mind. _*"Can you scan the wall of the barrier and isolate any points that look weaker Hinata?" Hinata nodded. "I'll try." She looked over the outside of the wall, but was having no luck. "I don't see anything that looks like a distortion in the chakra." Suddenly, Hinata felt something touch her hand. She looked over and saw that it was Naruto.*_

Naruto blinked again. "What do I have to promise Naruto?" Yugao looked at him expectantly. Naruto shook his head. "Promise me that you will find a way to break the seal that Danzo has put on you." Yugao bowed. "Thank you, Naruto. I wish you luck." Naruto nodded and Yugao put back on her mask. She left the hideout and both Naruto and Shino could hear the boulder being moved back into place.

Naruto sighed. "What do you think Shino?" Shino shrugged. "I think you are helping fellow shinobi keep their loved one safe." Naruto nodded. "This chair, it makes me feel older, wiser, it helps me think clearly." Shino nodded. "I wonder what Itachi put in it. Normal obsidian would not have that effect. Maybe it is a type of jutsu."

Naruto hrugged. "It doesn't matter." He tried to stand up but as soon as he stopped touching the chair, he felt dizzy and fell back down. "Naruto!" Naruto waved his hand. "I'm fine. It seems as though this chair has strange powers inside of it. But like I said, we will have to worry about it later. I believe the next item on Itachi's list is to improve my shadow clone jutsu."

Shino nodded. "Naruto, it doesn't say to work on the shadow clone jutsu specifically. It just says 'clone'." Naruto nodded and was able to stand up this time. He stretched his legs and popped his neck. "I guess all we can do is look around for a clue. He must have left something here that would make it clearer." Shino nodded his head in agreement.

Shino and Naruto started walking around the hideout looking for a clue that would give away the meaning of the scroll. Naruto checked both his room and the weapon room but found nothing. Shino searched the kitchen and the chakra room. "Find anything Shino?" Shino shook his head. "Nothing, maybe he really did mean 'shadow clone jutsu'." Naruto shook his head. No, there has got to be another meaning. Can I see the scroll?"

Shino handed Naruto the scroll and Naruto looked at it closely. Naruto laughed. "I will never understand how Itachi-sensei comes up with these brilliant hiding places." Naruto pointed to the 'o' in the word 'clone'. "See that? That is a seal." Shino was unamused. "Seriously?" Naruto nodded and unsealed it with one finger. "He purposely made it so that it can only be unsealed with one finger. That sneaky bastard."

A scroll popped out of the scroll. It was written by Itachi.

Naruto,

I'm surprised you found this. Well, not really. I knew you would find it eventually. These are the instructions to the improved jutsu I want you to learn. You won't be able to perfect it right away, but once you reach a certain rank, this jutsu combination will be almost unblockable.

Itachi

Naruto nodded. "So he wants me to use shadow clones as well as shadow shurikens. I've already done that though. It's how I beat Sasuke in the finals." Shino sighed. "So do we just skip this step?" Naruto shook his head. "No, he wants me to learn something specific. Maybe Hinata can help." Shino agreed and they left the hideout to go find Hinata.

**Hyuuga Mansion**

Hinata was worried. She had not heard from Shino or Naruto and the day was half over. She sighed and walked into her back yard and looked around. She decided that his would be a good time to think over what would happen in the next few days. The plan was to break into the ANBU Headquarters through the passage by the Hokage Mountain.

There would be only two guards and as long as they were careful, they could sneak in. She would not be able to use her Byakugan because any sensory-type ninjas would find her very quickly. After wandering through the passage with the help of Shino's bugs, they would find the entrance. Hinata and Shino would stay behind to wait for Naruto's escape. Naruto will then go into the headquarters, find Itachi, and bring him back to where Hinata and Shino would be waiting,

Depending on Itachi's condition, they will either fight their way out of the village or sneak their way out. All of this would happen in less than three hours. That was the plan anyway. Hinata wasn't sure how well the plan would turn out, but she had to hope for the best. Hinata thought she heard something coming from the house.

She activated her Byakuga and scanned her house. "Naruto is here!" She frowned as she saw her dad talking to him at the front door. She deactivated her Byakugan and ran through the house. "Hello Mr. Hyuuga. Is Hinata home?' Hinata came around the corner as Naruto finished his sentence. "Hi Naruto." Hinata smiled and Naruto smiled back.

"Can Hinata come train with us for awhile?" Hiashi frowned and shook his head. "I'm sorry Naruto. Today is family day. Maybe tomorrow." Naruto frowned. "Can I ask her a question then?" Hiashi nodded and Naruto stepped inside. Shino decided to stay outside. It was his own choice, but he also knew that Hiashi would not approve of him going inside.

"Make it quick. We have things to do." Naruto noticed that Hiashi was being unusually pleasant, but he decided not to say anything. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that today was family day, Naruto. What is your question?" She smiled and Naruto started to feel dizzy. _*Am I really getting lightheaded from talking to my girlfriend? We have been dating for almost a year.*_ Naruto brushed aside the thought.

"I was wondering if you could help me solve this puzzle. Itachi wants me to train my shadow clone jutsu and shadow shuriken jutsu at the same time. He said that I will get better at it once I reach a certain rank. Do you know what that means?" Hinata thought for a minute and shrugged. "Maybe by rank he means when you become a jounin."

Naruto shook his head. "No, he meant for me to be able to learn this by myself. I guess I'm not that smart though." Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. Hinata caught him off guard by kissing him. It surprised him so much that he almost fell down. Hinata giggled. "You are smart Naruto. You just havn't reached his heights yet."

Something clicked in Naruto's head. "Heights…That's it Hinata! Thank you so much!" Naruto kissed her and ran out the door. She blushed and waved goodbye. Hiashi appeared from upstairs and looked toward his daughter, then at Naruto. _*Maybe he does love her. But for now at least, she is my daughter first and your girlfriend second.*_ Hiashi smiled as Hinata shut the door.

**Training Ground 4**

Naruto and Shino ran out to the open area in the training ground. "Shino, I think I know what to do now. Can you create an insect clone?' Shino nodded and in seconds, an insect clone appeared before Naruto. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Fifty clones appeared around Naruto as he smirked. His clones surrounded the clone Shino and made a weird formation. His clones formed several circles around Shino. From the sky, Shino looked like the center of a target. A few clones jumped off of eachother and flew high into the air. The real Naruto run in and hit Shino with an uppercut, which threw him up into the air as well. As one machine, all of the clones of Naruto started jumping into the air until Shino was in a cloud of the clones. Each one threw a single shuriken. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"** As always, one shuriken multiplied several times until Shino was impaled from every direction.

The clones disappeared leaving only the real Naruto on the ground. Shino was still in the dome. Naruto took out a kunai with a paper bomb and threw it at the dome. **"Secret Art: Dome of Spikes!"** The Kunai exploded on impact, causing the ball to explode and send shrapnel everywhere. Naruto dodged and barely escaped his own jutsu. Shino also had to hide behind a tree to avoid being cut in half.

When it was done, the field was littled with steel. Shino shook his head. "You know it didn't have to be that flashy?" Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed.

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. The jutsu at the end is a little flashy but I wanted to end this chapter with a bang. I have an ultimate jutsu in mind for Naruto. It is very unique and very powerful, but I can't say what it is without spoiling a few surprises. So I would like you guys to come up with some side-effects to an "Ultimate Jutsu" for Naruto so he isn't over-powered. Things like giving it a recharge time, maybe he can only use it at one time of the day, maybe it hurts him as well. Please be creative. Thank you for reading and please review!**


	28. Day 5

**We are moving along quite nicely. At this rate I should be able to finish this ark in a month and a half. I re-read chapter 27 and plan on making a few changes to it. Please remember that this is my first fanfiction and I plan on correcting any mistakes I made in previous chapters. That will have to wait until I finish this ark though. For now, on to day 5!**

**Uchiha Hideout**

Naruto woke up and went about his daily routine. He got some fruit from the kitchen and looked at the letter from Itachi to see what was next on the list. Naruto yawned. "It looks like alchemy is next on the list." Naruto stared blankly for a minute and then turned to see Shino walking out of his room. "Uh, Shino, what is alchemy?"

Shino shook his head and laughed. "Naruto, alchemy is a skill that focuses on mixing different things found in nature to make things like salves and poisons." Naruto nodded and looked back at the scroll. "Didn't you learn that in the academy?" Naruto shrugged. "Itachi-sensei taught me how to make basic poisons and pills, but he always called it mixing. So when we learned that in the academy, I just called it mixing."

Shino nodded and walked over to the scroll that Naruto was looking at. "So the next thing on the list is alchemy huh? Well maybe you should talk to Sakura. She was always interested in that kind of stuff." Naruto nodded. "What are you going to do Shino?" Shino walked over to the chakra room and opened the door. "If you don't mind, I was going to help Hinata train her water nature. Maybe even help my insects become more resistant to water. Right now they can swim, but that's about it."

Naruto smiled and walked towards the front of the hideout. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll go get Hinata and send her here." Shino nodded and thanked him as Naruto jumped out of the hideout.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Park)**

A mysterious black shadow was sitting in a tree. It had taken awhile to get there but it was just glad it made it this far. The shadow looked around and surveyed the area. It had already been to the Hyuuga mansion. It witnessed the talk that Naruto and Hinata had about a new jutsu. The shadow did not know where to go next though.

The shadow decided that the best thing to do was find out where Naruto planned on going next. The shadow took the shape of a bird. It grew wings and a beak but remained black as night. It flapped its wings a few times to prepare itself, and then flew off of the branch in search of its target, Naruto Uzumaki.

**Hyuuga Mansion**

Hinata was brushing her hair in her room. It had grown slightly longer than she usually kept it and she was trying to arrange it so that Naruto would like it. She finally got her hair to lay perfectly and she sighed as she sat down. She was a little worried about her relationship with Naruto. They worked well together, but with everything that was going on the two of them hardly had any time to just be together.

Hinata frowned. "There are a lot of things going on right now. Hopefully it will get better once we rescue Itachi." With that, Hinata walked out of her room and down the stairs as she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and was surprised to see Naruto.

"Naruto…" Hinata was at a loss of words and stared blankly. _*What if he heard what I said? I know he has good hearing. Oh I hope I didn't just mess things up.*_ Naruto tilted his head to one side. "Uh, Hinata, are you ok?" Hinata snapped out of it and shook her head furiously. "Yes, I'm ok Naruto. Sorry I just kind of drifted off." Naruto looked at her funny and then smiled. "That's not like you Hinata. Are you sure you are ok?"

Hinata nodded and smiled. "Yes I am ok. What are we doing today?" Naruto frowned. "Actually, the plan was for you and Shino to train some more with your water nature." Hinata was confused. "What are you going to do?" Naruto sighed. "The next thing on the list for me to do is to learn alchemy. But Shino said that the only person he knows that might be able to teach me is Sakura."

Hinata frowned. "So you are spending the day with Sakura?" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "No it's not like that. I'm hoping that she can lead me to someone with more experience in alchemy." Hinata nodded but was still frowning. "It will be alright Hinata. I know we havn't been able to be together for awhile, but how about we go get something to eat tonight?" Hinata tilted her head. "Are you sure?" Naruto smiled. "Yeah, we could use a break from training for time together."

Hinata smiled. "Ok, I would like that." Naruto pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, things will get better." Hinata tensed up then became relaxed. "So you did hear me…" Naruto let her go and smiled. "Yeah, so don't worry ok?" Hinata smiled and nodded. "Shino is waiting for you at the hideout. I'll see you tonight." With that, Naruto kissed her and left to go find Sakura.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Academy)**

Sakura was working on a jutsu when she saw Naruto come around the corner. She tried to concentrate on what she was doing but found that she was too distracted. It didn't matter much anyway since Naruto walked right up to her. "Hey Sakura, I have a question." Sakura turned her head to see him but kept her hands busy. "Yeah? What is it Naruto?" She sounded more rude than she wanted to be and quickly apologized. "Oh, sorry Naruto I didn't mean to say it like that."

Sakura laughed nervously. Naruto could tell that something was on her mind. "Are you ok Sakura?" Sakura nodded. "Of course I'm ok. Why is there something wrong with me? Is it my hair?" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "No it's not that, you just seemed like something was on your mind." Sakura blinked and blushed.

After a few awkward moments Naruto continued. "Anyway, do you know someone who knows how to use alchemy really well?" Sakura nodded but still looked shy. "Yes. Mrs. Yamanaka is an excellent alchemist, but I don't know where she is right now. You would have to ask Ino." Naruto nodded. "Ok, thanks Sakura."

Naruto turned to leave. "Naruto, wait." Sakura called to him and Naruto turned around. Sakura shuffled her feet nervously and looked down and away. Naruto had a feeling that he knew what would happen next. "I have been thinking for awhile, about you. And I was just wondering, if you aren't with Hinata, would you like to hang out sometime?" Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the answer she dreaded.

She didn't hear one for awhile and opened her eyes to see what Naruto was doing. Naruto was smiling, but it also looked like he was frowning at the same time. "I'm sorry Sakura. We can hang out sometime, but it would be as friends. Hinata and I have been together for awhile now and I don't want to mess that up. She is already worried that we don't spend enough time together."

Sakura frowned and nodded slowly. "Ok, I understand." Naruto gave a fake smile. "Besides, you don't know me that well and right now isn't a good time anyways." Sakura nodded again. "I would like to get to know you better then. As friends." Naruto smiled. "Sure, I'll see you later Sakura." Naruto jumped off to go find Ino, leaving a sad Sakura behind.

**Uchiha Hideout**

Shino and Hinata had been sparring for a little over an hour when Shino stopped suddenly. "What's wrong Shino?" Hinata asked. Shino stood silent for awhile before answering. "What do you think will happen when Naruto rescues Itachi?" Hinata tilted her head and looked confused. "Um, I guess we will have to leave the village for awhile."

"Where do we go?" Shino asked. "It's not like we have many allies outside of the Hidden Leaf. We have a very new alliance with the Hidden Sand, but who knows how long that will last." Hinata frowned and spoke up. "We will think of something. Even if we have to wander for awhile until things calm down, Naruto knows what to do. He was taught by Itachi to live without being supported through a village."

Shino shook his head. "I don't know. We need an actual plan. We have to know where we will go after we resue Itachi. Maybe he will know. He must have some connections outside of the Hidden Leaf." Hinata nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Naruto mentioned a long time ago that Itachi had many friends outside of the village." She smiled. "We should talk to Naruto when he gets back." Hinata became slightly upset when she remembered what Naruto was doing.

Shino saw her concern. "I know that you probably don't like that Naruto has to spend the day with Sakura. Don't worry about him. You know he has to get stronger so he can save Itachi. Actually, he is not only training for Itachi." Shino paused and waited for Hinata to catch on, but she didn't. Shino sighed as she looked at him while patiently waiting for the rest. "He is training to protect you, Hinata." She blushed hard.

"But, why would he want to protect me?" Shino laughed. "Come on Hinata, you know why. You two are together, and Naruto has always been the protective type." Hinata nodded. "But he doesn't need to protect me. I've been getting stronger too." Shino smiled and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with how strong you become Hinata. It isn't because he thinks you need protected. It's because he wants to be your hero. He wants to be the one you always look up to."

Shino paused and Hinata started to blush again. "He has always wanted to play the hero, but now it is even more important to him because he can be the hero of someone he loves." Hinata smiled.

Shino shrugged. "Anyways, there is one other outcome we have not talked about yet." Hinata looked up and her smile instantly vanished. "What do you mean, Shino?" He turned around and took a few steps, then stopped. "What if Naruto fails?" It hit Hinata like a wall, knocking all of the air out of her. It took her a minute to breathe. "What are you talking about?"

Shino sighed and kept his back to her. "You know what I mean. What if Naruto fails to rescue Itachi and is captured?" Hinata started to panic and began to stutter. "B-but, there is no way that Naruto could be c-captured, right?" Shino shook his head and turned back to face her. Tears were forming in her eyes. "Hinata, the ANBU Black Ops is made up of the top ninja in the Hidden Leaf. They are the best of the best. Most of them are jounin."

Hinata didn't say anything for awhile. She didn't want to admit it, but Shino was right. They need a plan if the worst happens. "What will you do Shino?" Shino took a deep breath. "If Naruto were to fail, we would not have that many choices. The ANBU most likely already know that you and I are helping Naruto and that we are planning to break out Itachi. I doubt that they will just let us go back to living normal lives."

Hinata shook her head. "No, " she said with a determined look in her eyes. "I will not give up on Naruto. Even if he gets captured…" She hesitated and took a breath. "If Naruto gets captured then I will save him myself!" Hinata looked confident and believed what she was saying.

Shino just shook his head. "I don't mean to be a downer, Hinata. But that would not be the best plan. You would most likely just walk into a trap. " Hinata frowned and looked deflated. "What should we do then?" Shino tilted his head to each side and his neck popped. "I say we follow Naruto in. We wait for him to get pretty far ahead of us, and then we go in behind him. We provide back-up."

Hinata continued to frown and protested. "Naruto won't agree to that. He wants us to stay behind and wait for him to come back." Shino looked at Hinata with a fierce look in his eyes that meant he was serious. Hinata had never seen Shino this way. It scared her. "Hinata, if we don't back Naruto up, he might not come back. I know that you don't want to disappoint Naruto by ignoring what he says, but we are a team. And as a team, we look out for eachother."

Hinata sighed and nodded. "You are right. We have to be there for Naruto, whether he wants us there or not." Shino smiled. "That's what I'm thinking. Now then, let's get off this dreaded subject and get back to training, alright?" Hinata nodded. "Yes!"

**Hidden Leaf Village (Yamanaka House)**

Naruto walked up to the house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, he heard someone say something about 'getting interuppted' and then he heard footsteps coming to the door. When it opened, he got a reaction that he did not expect. "Oh, hi Naruto! What are you doing here? Oh my, I'm a mess! I must look awful!" Naruto laughed nervously as Ino rambled on.

"Anyway, how are you?" Naruto smiled. "I'm doing fine, is your mom home?" Ino looked at him with a confused face. "Um, yeah, sure. Why?" Naruto continued to smile even though his instincts told him not to. "I need someone to teach me alchemy and Sakura said that your mom is an expert."

Ino's eyes started to shine. "Oh yes, of course she is an expert! She is the best alchemist ninja in the village." Ino was smiling bright and was waiting for Naruto to say something. Naruto stood calmly. _*Oh no, not Ino too? I don't like having fan-girls.*_

After a long awkward moment, Naruto asked a question. "So do you think your mom could teach me?" Ino put her finger on her chin and looked up, pretending to think. "Hmm, I don't know." She said sarcastically. She stuck her hand out for Naruto to grab. Naruto brushed it away lightly. Ino's mind immediately changed. "Oh, she can't she's really busy right now. She has so much to do today and she most likely won't be free for another month or so."

Naruto sighed. _*She isn't going to make this easy is she?*_ Naruto shrugged. "Are you sure she can't squeeze me in? It won't take long." Ino stuck her hand out towards Naruto once again and just waited. Naruto faked a smile and took her hand. Ino's mood changed again. "Oh yes! I'm sure she can make some time for you Naruto!" Ino smiled and dragged Naruto inside.

Naruto didn't like where this was going. _*Hinata would kill me if she saw this.*_ Just before Ino closed the door, Naruto thought he saw something in a tree outside her house. But before he could get a better look, Ino slammed the door and led Naruto by the hand.

**Hidden Leaf Village (hours later)**

The pitch black pird was pirched on a branch outside a restaurant. It was well aware of everything that was going on. Naruto was training to save Itachi. He planned on breaking in through the Hokage Mountain, where the fewest amount of guards were stationed. It was a brilliant plan, but it required speed and precision. As far as it could tell, Naruto had not mastered either of those.

The bird sat for awhile until it saw two figures approaching the restaurant. Naruto and Hinata were walking towards the restaurant. They were most likely on a date. The bird decided to shake its feathers and flew off. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata drew closer to the restaurant. They were holding hands.

"I'm glad that we can still go out like this Naruto." Naruto nodded. "Me too. It has been bothering me for awhile that we haven't been able to do things like this. But it can't be helped with everything that is going on." Hinata walked in front of Naruto and blocked him from going further. Naruto was about to speak when she put a finger to his lips. He stopped and she leaned in to kiss him.

When they finally broke off, Naruto was surprised when he saw that Hinata wasn't blushing. She was just smiling. "No talk of the mission tonight, Naruto. Let's take our minds off of it and enjoy being together." Naruto smiled and looked into her shining eyes. "I couldn't agree more." They walked into the restaurant, fingers entwined in eachother's.

**Thanks for reading! I hope the way Ino and Sakura acted didn't bother anyone. Since they tend to fall for strong guys and Naruto wiped the floor with Sasuke in the academy, they both have a crush on Naruto. Don't worry, it won't last long. We are getting closer to the end of this arc so vote in my poll to make your voice heard! Leave a review and I'll see you guys later!**


	29. Day 6

**I'm back. No excuses, no promises, no more delays. Day 6 starts now. I will finish this chapter in one night and so help me this ark will be finished ASAP. For now, hang in there.**

**Uchiha Hideout (Morning)**

Naruto awoke to a familiar smell. He rubbed his eyes and rolled out of bed. "Looks like Hinata Is making me breakfast again." He smiled when he mentioned her name. It was a troubling time for Naruto. His sensei had been taken from him and he was determined to get him back. He hadn't planned on his teammates joining him in this quest, but they had, and the three of them were most likely going to be banished in the end. It was worth it.

Naruto walked into the kitchen and hugged Hinata from behind. "Hey there." Hinata smiled as she held his arms. "Hi Naruto. Glad to see you finally woke up." Naruto raised his eyebrow. "Finally? It's six in the morning." She shrugged. "I've been here for about half an hour." Naruto looked surprised.

She finished making breakfast as Shino walked in. "Morning Shino." Naruto said as Shino sat down. "Good morning. What's the plan for today?" Naruto tilted his head both ways to pop his neck, a habit he picked up from Shino. "The note Itachi-sensei left for me says that I am supposed to come up with a new jutsu."

Shino thanked Hinata as she sat down and she asked, "What kind of jutsu?" Naruto stopped eating and read the note more carefully. "Well," he started, "I would guess that it would be a combination of what I have learned so far."

Hinata started to wonder. "What do you think you are supposed to combine?" Naruto thought for a minute. "Well, I'v learned to control my chakra better. I have learned about chakra natures; how to imbue my weapons in chakra, basic alchemy, and how to think outside of the box with my clones." Shino shook his head. "I doubt that alchemy can be part of the combination. It isn't normally a combat skill."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Maybe it has to do with my clones and wind chakra." Hinata chimed in, "What about using your wind chakra with Shadow Shuriken Jutsu? You can already imbue your weapons with chakra, so dividing it into many shuriken should be just a little more difficult." Naruto smiled and nodded. "That's a good idea Hinata. We should all go to the training ground so we have a wider space to practice."

Both Shino and Hinata agreed and they got ready to leave the hideout. Shino stopped Naruto. "Naruto, about the schedule," Naruto turned to look at Shino and he looked worried. "You know that tomorrow you are supposed to learn to resist the sharingan?" Naruto frowned and nodded slowly. "I know."

Shino continued. "How do you plan on doing that? Itachi is locked up and you aren't exactly on the best terms with Sasuke." Naruto frowned. "I know, but I have to find a way. We will think of something." Shino smirked. "That's one thing I admire about you Naruto, your optimism." Naruto smiled and they headed out.

**Hokage Mansion **

There was a knock on the door to the Hokage's office. "Come in." Said the Third as he finished some paperwork. The door opened and a man walked in. He shut the door behind him. The Third glanced up and lifted his head. "Ah, Danzo. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The Hokage made it clear that he was not happy to see Danzo.

"Well Hiruzen, I have some things we need to discuss." Danzo took a seat in front of the Hokage's desk and gave a look that demanded attention. The Third sighed and looked up from his paper work. "I have a feeling that I know what this is about." He adjusted himself in his chair and took out a pipe.

"I would prefer it if you didn't smoke, Hiruzen." The Third stopped and slowly put the pipe away. "I'll come right out with it then. I want you to send a strike team after Naruto." The Hokage stared at Danzo unblinkingly. "Why should I worry about Naruto? He has not caused this village any harm."

Danzo remained cool and collected. "Hiruzen, you and I both know that Naruto's affiliation with Itachi Uchiha makes him a threat to the Hidden Leaf. He must be dealt with and treated as a Class-A threat." Hiruzen shook his head in disagreement. "I do not see Naruto as a threat, nor do I see Itachi as a threat. They are both respectful shinobi and should be treated with dignity."

Danzo grew angry and raised his voice. "Hiruzen don't be a fool! Anyone can see that preemptive measures must be taken to avoid a conflict with Naruto in the future." The Third raised his voice as well. "So you would have a conflict with him now a permanently turn him against his village!?"

"You do not see things as I see them!" Danzo said as he pounded his fist on the table. "That was always your problem Hiruzen. Instead of taking measures to protect your village, you wait until the damage is already done!" The Third jumped out of his chair and slammed his hands on the desk. "I have always done the most I can to protect this village!"

"Well it's not enough!" Danzo was out of his chair as well and they were staring eachother down across the table. The Third exhaled and took a moment to calm himself. "How will sending a strike team after Naruto protect the village?" Danzo slid his hands across the table violently. "Can you not see it?! Naruto is a threat!"

The Third replied quickly. "To who, Danzo! This village…or you?" Danzo shook with anger. The Third looked down on Danzo. "You made the wrong decision. You took Itachi Uchiha into custody after I pardoned him—"

"—You had no right to forgive him for what he did!" Danzo was furious and Hiruzen calmed down and stood up straight. "You made Naruto your enemy and severely pissed him off. As far as you are concerned, this conversation is over. Permission denied." Danzo stormed out of the romm and slammed the dorr so hard that it fell off of it's hinges. Within seconds, guards were there to secere the Third and repair the door.

Hiruzen sighed and looked out the window. _*For your sake, Danzo, don't make the wrong move again.*_

**Training Ground 4 (midday)**

Naruto and Shino were panting and had bruises all over them. They had been sparring for quite awhile now as Naruto tried to come up with a new jutsu. "You've almost got it Naruto!" Hinata said from the sidelines. She had her Byakugan activated so that she could see the chakra around Naruto's shuriken. "Your chakra is dying off as soon as it hits Shino's insects. You need to find a way to stabalize the flow around the shuriken so that it connects with it."

Naruto nodded and took out a few more shuriken. Ready for another round Shino?" Shino nodded as insects flew out of his jacket. Naruto let chakra flow into his hands and onto the shuriken. They were encased in a green aura and once Naruto thought they were fully developed, he threw them at Shino.

The shuriken flew fast and twirled as they carved through the air. "**Hidden Jutsu: Insect cluster."** A swarm flew in front of Shino and compressed into a floating wall. The shuriken flew at the wall and a few bounced off. A couple cut into the cluster and one even went straight threw and was headed for Shino. In a second, Hinata was in front of him. **"Rotation!"** Hinata spun swiftly as a blue sphere erupted around her.

The wind-infused shuriken didn't bounce off. Instead, it started to cut its way into the sphere! Hinata increased her speed and the shuriken lost its green aura. It was knocked away and left Hinata exhausted. "You did it Naruto." She said with a smile. "It almost got through." Naruto smiled and they all sat down to take a breather.

**ANBU Headquarters (jail cell)**

Itachi was sweating. He was barely able to recover enough chakra to keep his jutsu alive while the room sucked away. _*I can only keep this up for another day. It's time.*_ Itachi quickly transferred his thoughts to his crow out in the village. It had taken precise timing, but he had managed to get it through before Danzo shut the door to his cell. _*Hang in there Naruto. I will help you with your last step.*_

**ANBU Headquarters (throne room)**

Danzo stormed in and sat in his throne. He beat his fingers repetetively on the chair. "If Hiruzen won't do anything, then I will have to take matters into my own hands, again." He summoned his personal bodyguards and they appeared instantly. In unison they said, "Yes, my lord?"

Danzo took a few breathes to collect himself. "The Hokage has refused to work with us to capture Naruto. Therefore, it is time to begin the overthrow." Danzo paused. "But first, we must capture Naruto, alive. I can no longer wait for him to show. The time for rebellion has come. Assemble the strike team." The two shinobi nodded and disappeared.

Danzo remained seated in his chair. "They will rain down upon him like molten fire. He will have no escape." He smirked as five shinobi appeared in front of them. One spoke, "My Lord, we leave on your command." Danzo nodded and the shinobi took off, their target: Naruto Uzumaki.

**Somewhere near Tenchi Bridge**

Sasuke stood under the waterfall. A shield of lightning was above his head and it sparked and cracked and the water bounced off of it. "You are doing well." A mysterious man said. "Your control of lightning is superior, but we have much more work to do before you can master it."

Sasuke listened and focused on the lightning barrier. It had helped him tremendously in the Chuunin exams, but it was not strong enough. Just then, a black crow landed on the water before the two ninja. The water became still around the crow and Sasuke's mentor turned to meet its eyes.

"You have the Uchiha eyes. What is your buisiness?" The crow started to grow and took on the form of Itachi. Sasuke's eyes immediately fixated on his older brother and the lightning barrier vanished. The water poured down onto Sasuke and he was drenched, but it didn't phase him.

"Itachi," Sasuke said slowly, "why have you come?" Itachi stood and glanced over at the older ninja. He was obviously a high ranked ninja and he had a headband that belonged to the Hidden Rain on his forehead. He turned to look at his younger brother. "Sasuke, I have come to ask for a favor."

**Uchiha Hideout**

The three chuunin finished supper and relaxed in their chairs. "Well, we didn't exactly accomplish what we set out to do, but we are close." Shino leaned back in his chair and waited for his teammate's responses. Naruto frowned. "It feels like I am so far behind schedule. I don't know if I will be ready by tomorrow."

Hinata frowned. "Don't worry Naruto. Shino and I are behind you every step of the way. We all have come far in the last few days." Shino nodded in agreement and a bug flew into the hideout. It was one of Shino's. "My parents are back early." Naruto and Hinata both looked surprised. "Already? I thought they were supposed to be in the Emerald Mountains?" Shino nodded. "They were, but apparently as soon as they arrived at the base of the mountains, there was a diplomatic dispute and they had to return."

Naruto looked confused but Shino shook his head. "I will go meet them to hear the full story. They always have good stories to tell after a mission." Shino got up to leave. "I will see you both tomorrow." He smiled at them and they smiled back as he left.

Naruto sighed again and looked at Hinata. "Hinata, be honest with me. Do you really think that we can pull this off?" Hinata was worried. She had never expected Naruto to doubt himself. "I…don't know. We have done everything we can." She tried to cheer up. "We are the most prepared that we can be, Naruto. Believe in yourself. You are stronger than the average ninja. If anyone can do this, you can."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Hinata. I can always count on you to cheer me up." She smiled and they walked into Naruto's room. "I guess I should go now. Hinata said as she turned around to leave. "Wait." Naruto grabbed her gently and turned her around to meet his eyes. They kissed and the moment seemed to last forever.

They broke off as they heard a crashing sound. The two off them raced out to see what happened and were shocked at what they saw. Shino was lying on the ground and five shinobi were around him. Each of them war a different ceramic mask. "Black Ops members," Naruto growled as he took out a kunai. Hinata also readied her Byakugan and looked over at Shino. "Naruto, he is alright, but his chakra flow has stopped. I think they paralyzed him." Naruto was ready for a fight. This is what his training was for. The ultimate test before his real mission began. "Naruto, we are here to capture you."

**xXxXxXxXxXx Awake by Skillet xXxXxXxXxXx**

Naruto moved to run but was stopped by Hinata. "Wait Naruto. This will be much easier if we can get Shino to help. If you can get me to him, I can remove the paralysis." Naruto nodded and formed a handsign. **"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** Numerous shadow clones appeared around the two of them and filled the hall. They all ran towards the ANBU members and started to attack. Two of the ANBU focused on cutting a path towards Naruto while the other three destroyed clones.

They were fast and efficient. Naruto's clones were dying by the dozen and time was running out. He quickly moved just in time to dodge a strike by one of the ANBU. The Black Ops member quickly jumped towards him but one of Naruto's clones jumped in the way and cut off his path. Naruto took this moment to summon his weapons. Claw and Serra were in his hands for mere seconds before they were smacked away by a second ninja. Naruto flipped backwards just in time to avoid a second hit. The two shinobi were faster than anyone he had ever encountered, save for Itachi.

A clone of Naruto surprised the three ANBU surrounding Shino with a spinning kick. They recovered in mid-air almost instantly and launched back at him. _*Wrong move.* _The clone thought as it swiftly dropped down into a Hyuuga stance. **"Rotation!" **A blue sphere erupted around him and the three ANBU flew right into it, bouncing off after being hit several times. When the sphere dissapated, Hinata was standing there and she turned around to look at Shino. She had only seconds to disable the poison, which was not nearly enough time to administer an antidote. She thought fast and imbued her palms with water.

"**Water Style: Purifying Palm!"** She struck fast and hard at Shino's chest then quickly rolled away. One Anbu launched himself at Shino but was caught in a swarm of insects. **"Hidden Technique: Bite of One Hundred Swarmlings!"** The Anbu yelled in pain as the insects quickly drained him of his chakra. He quickly recovered as his partner surrounded him in water.

"Wrong move again." Shino said. He smirked as his insects swam through the water and continued to eat away at the shinobi's chakra. The water was instantly swarming with electricity as the third ANBU touched it, killing all of the insects. Shino backed away and stood next to Hinata. "Any plans?" He asked as his insects swarmed him.

A huge gust of wind seemed to come from nowhere and all of them turned to look. Naruto was surrounded in wind chakra and it was all being poured into Serra. Both Hinata and Shino knew what was coming next. **"Wind Style: Razor Bomb!"** Naruto swung Serra horizantally and the wind quickly enveloped the whole room. Shino covered himself in insects and Hinata activated her Rotation to shield her from the blast. The wind cut threw the ANBU who were caught by surprise by this massive surge of chakra. They flew back and were stuck to the wall by the massive wind.

_*Amazing,*_ Shino thought, _*Instead of using it as on offensive attack that cuts through enemies, Naruto used the wind combined with the tight space to create a wind tunnel.*_ One of the ANBU struggled to stand up and was able to make a few handsigns. **"Earth Style: Earth wall."** The earth erupted beneath them and started to form a wall around the ANBU. Naruto thought fast and dropped Serra. He made a few handsigns. **"Single Prong Seal: Reverse!" **Not one, but three seals came off of Naruto. One on his chest and one on each hand.

He gathered his chakra and made shadow clones. He then took out several shuriken. He imbued them with wind and threw them, quickly throwing his hands together afterwards. **"Secret Wind Style: Hailstorm!" **The wind-imbued shuriken multiplied over and over until they hit the earth wall. Most of them punched right through to the otherside and screams of pain could be heard.

**xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx**

The wall of earth fell to the floor and four of the five shinobi were unmoving. Naruto panted and fell to the ground. He was drained of chakra. Even with the little bit that was cyphoned from the Ninetails, he was almost empty. Hinata and Shino quickly ran over to Naruto to make sure he was alright. Naruto looked up long enough to see the last ANBU member make a handsign. The five of them disappeared instantly and Naruto fainted.

**Well, that's all for this chapter! Everything comes together in the next few chapters so stick around. Please review and favorite!**


	30. Day 7

**The final day has come. Naruto must finish his training and prepare to rescue Itachi. It will not be easy. The day is for training; the night, for the mission. The time has arrived. Day 7 begins now.**

**Uchiha Hideout (morning)**

Naruto awoke in his bed. He wasn't surprised. It was the new normal for him to awake suddenly in his bed. Ever since the day that the Ninetails dragged his body back to the hideout after Yugao got away, he had been waking up without being able to remember when he fell asleep…or passed out.

Naruto got out of bed and looked around to make sure everything was secure. He stepped out into the great hall and saw one of Shino's insects scurry away. _*It must be going to tell Shino that I am awake. Why didn't they stay around though?*_ Naruto frowned as he walked toward the kitchen. He saw a note on the fridge written in Hinata's hand.

It read:

Naruto,

I am sorry that I could not stay to keep an eye on you until you woke up. Father would be furious if I spent the night with you, especially without telling him. I hope you are doing well. Please come see me as soon as you can.

Love, Hinata

Naruto read it again to make sure he did not miss anything, and then he put it on the table and walked out of the kitchen. Naruto was worried. The three of them had to be ready tonight. This would most likely be their last day as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty for dragging Shino and Hinata into this. _*They chose to be at my side rather than stay with the village.* _He smiled. He really had made some good friends.

Naruto sensed something and quickly pulled out a kunai. He readied it and waited as he stared at the entrance. The boulder did not move. Instead, a figure dropped down into the hideout. It took a few steps forward and stopped before the light hit it. "Naruto, I see you are awake."

Naruto's eyes widened and he grew a bit cautious. "Is that you, Sasuke?" The figure stepped forward to reveal itself. Sasuke was wearing a loose dark purple shirt and black pants. He also wore a black cape with a purple spiderweb pattern on the back. "Naruto, my older brother sent me."

Naruto was speechless. "Itachi-sensei? But that's not possible. He is in prison!" Sasuke nodded. "Yes, he himself is, but he sent a clone to come find me. He wants you to know that he has been monitering your progress and he is very pleased with how far you have come."

Naruto was so confused. "Monitering? You mean he has been watching me the whole time and didn't even explain things to me?" Sasuke just waited for Naruto to finish. "Naruto, you have to realize that you cannot always rely on your sensei to give you all of the answers. Surely you of all people know that." Naruto frowned but was still upset.

"He has helped you. He sent me to train you in his place. I am to teach you how to resist the Sharingan." Naruto eyed Sasuke cautiously. "You don't seem too happy about that." Sasuke shook his head. "Would you be happy if someone told you to teach me how to exploit your greatest weakness?" Naruto frowned. "No, I guess not."

Sasuke nodded. "Good, we are on the same page. However, I have not agreed to teach you just yet." Naruto looked curious. "What do you mean?" Sasuke took a step forward. "If I am to teach you how to beat my most powerful jutsu, then you must teach me how to defeat the Ninetails." Naruto was shocked and flinched to show it.

"Sasuke, you can't be serious." Sasuke nodded. "I am very serious. This is the price I need you to pay." Naruto shook his head and regained his cool. "Sasuke, I don't know how to beat the Ninetails. I don't know any weaknesses or even an effective way to trap him other than sealing him away." Sasuke looked disappointed. "Then I'm sorry Naruto, but we have nothing left to discuss."

Sasuke turned to walk out. Just before he left, Naruto stopped him. "Sasuke, wait." Sasuke stopped but did not turn around. Naruto hesitated. "A three-pronged seal can stop the transformation. I don't know if it always works or if it was just luck, but that's all I know." Sasuke said nothing. "There has to be something else you want! I have weapons, and money. Please, just tell me and it's yours. Help me save your older brother. Help me save Itachi."

For a long time, niether of them said anything. Then, Sasuke turned around. He had a smirk on his face. "There is only one thing I want Naruto." Naruto nodded calmly. "Name it." Sasuke took a step forward. "The Ninetails."

**ANBU Headquarters**

Danzo was sitting in his throne. There were five dead shinobi in front of him. "They failed to capture that little brat…" Danzo shook his head in disappointment. "Failure is not acceptable." He motioned to one of his guards and they took the bodies away. He sighed and took a few breathes.

"From what the last survivor told me, Naruto is much more powerful than I predicted." He slammed his fist down onto the chair. "Dammit! Why did they give him seven days." Danzo grew frustrated. He took out a kunai and threw it to the other end of the hall. It punched right threw the solid rock and impaled the ninja standing behind it. It was one of the ANBU, but he didn't care.

"It ends tonight. Naruto will come to free Itachi, and by doing so will doom himself and his friends. Then I can assume control of the village." He smirked.

**Hyuuga Mansion**

Hinata was pacing around her room. She knew that everything came together tonight. All of their training together was for the hope of saving Itachi. She sighed. _*If something goes wrong…*_ She shook off the thought. "Naruto knows what he is doing," she reassured herself. "I just have to do my best to help."

She heard a whistle coming from outside. She walked over to the window and looked out. It was Naruto. She quickly ran downstairs to meet him. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see him frowning. "Naruto, what's wrong?"

Naruto sighed. "Hinata, Sasuke came to see me this morning." She gasped. "Sasuke? What did he want?" Naruto frowned. "He said that Itachi sought him out and asked him to train me." Hinata was confused." But Itachi is held captive. How did he go to Sasuke?" Naruto shook his head. "It's a long story, but I'll tell you soon. First, we have to go find Shino." She nodded and they left the house.

**Aburame Compound**

Naruto and Hinata walked up to the door of Shino's house. Naruto walked up to knock but before he could, Shino opened the door. "Naruto, Hinata, I'm glad you came." The two of them looked at him with a puzzled look. "Please come in."

They nodded and followed him inside. Shino motioned for them to sit down. "I have some disturbingly pleasant information. The entrance to the underground passage near the cliff is currently unguarded." Naruto nearly jumped out of his seat. "What! What do you mean that it is unguarded?" Shino cleared his throat. "I meant exactly what I said. The entrance has no guards stationed at it and it looks as if there won't be any there tonight."

Naruto hesitated. "I've got a bad feeling." Hinata nodded in agreement. "It seems like a trap, but it's an obvious one." Shino chimed in, "It's almost like they want us to get in." A shiver went down Naruto's spine. "Should we try a different route?" Hinata asked.

Shino shrugged. "I'm not sure. If they moved the guards from that entrance, they could have been stationed elsewhere." He paused. "Then again, it could be that they have a large force just inside waiting for us."

"No." They both looked at Naruto. "We stick to the plan. Everything stays the same." Shino shook his head and tried to reason with him. "Naruto, everything is not the same. This could completely ruin our strategy." Naruto shook his head slowly and closed his eyes. "Whether they moved the guards or set an ambush doesn't matter. All that matters is that we get inside."

"Naruto, listen! We can't just rush into this. All of our lives are at stake tonight—" "Don't you think I know that!?" Naruto interrupted. He breathed heavily. "I know what is at stake Shino. We have been training for this." Shino interrupted him. "Then why won't you listen to reason?"

Naruto paused and Hinata looked worried. "Shino, this is the most dangerous mission any of us have been on. We also have a time limit." Naruto hesitated. "If we don't take this opportunity, we might not make it." Shino thought for a few minutes and Naruto continued. "Shino, Hinata, I know that this doesn't look like a smart choice right now, but please trust me."

Hinata held Naruto's hand and squeezed. Shino sighed. "I do trust you Naruto, our lives are in your hands." Naruto nodded. "Don't worry I won't let you two down." Shino took a deep breath and Hinata nudged Naruto with her shoulder. "Naruto, wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. Shino, Sasuke came to see me this morning." Shino looked astonished. "Sasuke? What did he want?" Naruto continued. "He claimed that a clone of Itachi spoke to him and asked him to train me." Shino looked confused. "Train you? I thought Sasuke didn't even like you."

Naruto shrugged. "He doesn't, but his appearance alone is enough to make me believe his story. He wants me to meet him alone at Tenchi Bridge." Shino frowned. "Are you sure that is a good idea Naruto? Sasuke is not exactly the friendly type." Hinata nodded in agreement. "He could be setting you up."

Naruto nodded. "I know, but I've got a bad feeling about tonight. It feels as though I'm missing a piece of training to help prepare me." Hinata looked worried. "Is training with Sasuke that important?" Naruto nodded. "He is supposed to teach me how to resist the powers of the Sharingan."

Shino grew suspicious. "That doesn't sound like knowledge that he would just give away." Naruto frowned. "He asked for something in return." Hinata asked him, "What did he ask for in return?"

"Well…"

**Flashback**

Sasuke turned to walk out. Just before he left, Naruto stopped him. "Sasuke, wait." Sasuke stopped but did not turn around. Naruto hesitated. "A three-pronged seal can stop the transformation. I don't know if it always works or if it was just luck, but that's all I know." Sasuke said nothing. "There has to be something else you want! I have weapons, and money. Please, just tell me and it's yours. Help me save your older brother. Help me save Itachi."

For a long time, niether of them said anything. Then, Sasuke turned around. He had a smirk on his face. "There is only one thing I want Naruto." Naruto nodded calmly. "Name it." Sasuke took a step forward. "The Ninetails."

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "You can't be serious Sasuke. I have no way to give you the Ninetails." Sasuke shrugged. "I'm sure my mentor could find a way. He is an expert at high-level jutsu." Naruto hesitated. "That is my price Naruto. Take it or leave it."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke. He only slightly resembled Itachi. The hair and eyes were nearly the same, but everything else was different. "What do you plan on doing with the Ninetails?" Sasuke closed his eyes. "I have recently been assigned the task of guarding the Ninetails. I'm sure you have heard of the Akatsuki." Naruto nodded his head.

"Hopefully they won't come after you for awhile, but when they do, you won't be able to defend yourself alone. They are S-ranked criminals." Naruto frowned. "Who assigned you to protect me?" Sasuke shook his head. "That I cannot say, but you will know eventually."

Naruto thought about it carefully for awhile. Sasuke grew impatient. "Do we have a deal, Naruto?" Naruto looked up at him. "Yes."

**Aburame Compound**

Both Hinata and Shino were speechless. "Naruto," Hinata started, "Is it even possible to give someone the Ninetails that is inside you?" Naruto shook his head. "I don't know. I'm not even sure if I want to give it up, vut I need to save Itach-sensei." Shino nodded, taking everything into account.

"When will you be back?" Naruto looked over at him. "Meet me on top of the Hokage Mountain at 10pm, both of you." They both nodded and Naruto looked at Hinata. His eyes were loving. He leaned in to kiss her and afterwards he stood up. "I will be back." And with that, Naruto left to go see Sasuke.

**Thanks for being patient with me. It took me about 2 weeks and an energy shot to get up the motivation to finish this chapter, but hopefully it was worth the wait. Please review and come back for the next chapter!**


	31. Confrontation of Shinobi

**Hello everyone. I lost my outline for the last few chapters, but I'm going to attempt to write them from memory. A lot happens in this chapter so prepare yourself.**

**Somewhere near Tenchi Bridge**

Naruto looked around hoping to find Sasuke. He was nervous, but he had to trust Sasuke. _*It's for Itachi-sensei.*_ Naruto thought to himself. As he walked, he thought of everything that brought him to this point; Itachi taking him from the village, returning for the last year of the academy, fighting the Kazekage, the Chuunin Exams, Itachi's capture. Naruto frowned. _*Where will life take me next?*_

He finally caught a glimpse of Sasuke as he approached the bridge. "Naruto," Sasuke said cooly, "you're late." Naruto stopped a good distance away, in case Sasuke was planning something. "Sorry, I had to let my teammates know what was going on."

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't see why your team is so important. It seems to me that they are holding you back." Naruto shook his head slowly, keeping his temper under control. "You're wrong Sasuke. They help me more than you know and I'm glad that they are my friends."

Sasuke smirked. "It's Hinata isn't it?" Naruto flinched. "You love her Naruto. I can see it in your eyes. But you're a fool to think you know love." Naruto clenched his fists. "This isn't what I came here to discuss, Sasuke." Sasuke nodded, seeing that Naruto was becoming angry.

"Very well, Naruto. Let us begin with some information." He activated his Sharingan but did not take an offensive stance. "There are very few ways to beath the Sharingan. It's speed is unmatched and it improves the caster's reaction time to near God levels." Naruto reached for his kunai as Sasuke appeared behind him. _*I didn't even see him.*_

"Very good. Even though you didn't know what I was going to do, your body reacted before your mind. If you can move faster, or slow down the Sharingan user, then you can overcome their speed." Naruto nodded and kept his hand on his kunai. "So you are saying that if I can outmatch their speed, I can win against the Sharingan?" Even Naruto already knew that. Sasuke smirked. "Of course, except for the fact that anyone with a decent amount of experience with the Sharingan is already considered one of the fastest ninja."

Naruto became angry. "That doesn't help me at all!" Sasuke shrugged. "That's not my problem Naruto." Naruto was beginning to think that coming so far from the village to meet Sasuke was a waste of time. "Naruto…" He looked at Sasuke whose expression seemed to change drastically. "Belive it or not, I do still care about my brother. I may not understand why he did what he did, but he must have a reason." Sasuke's sharingan faded to reveal sad eyes.

"I need to know his reason, Naruto. That is why I will help you. I know something that might help you." Naruto nodded and listened. "In the realm of Tsukuyomi, the sharingan user has the ultimate advantage. However, if the caster is at a weakened mental state, it is possible for the victim to take control."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. "So Tsukuyomi can be turned against the user?" Sasuke nodded. "Yes, though once that happens the caster usually just cancels the jutsu. If you ever face the sharingan, remember that it isn't the end. It is a constant struggle between two wills."

Naruto nodded and Sasuke turned to leave. "I want you to bring him to me, Naruto. That is the only thing I want in return." Naruto was shocked. "But, I thought you wanted the Ninetails?" Sasuke shrugged. "My teacher has revealed to me that it would be more of a hassle to take it than it would to befriend you. I will see you later, Naruto." Before Naruto could say anything more, Sasuke vanished.

**Hyuuga Mansion**

Hinata was rummaging through her room. She was packing a bag to take with her. After Naruto had left, Shino mentioned that if things did not go as planned, or even if they did, they would most likely have to leave the Hidden Leaf for a long time. Hinata frowned and stopped packing. _*How will I tell father?*_

She sat on her bed and let her mind wander. _*What will our families think?*_ She knew that Shino had already told his parents and Itachi was as close to a father as Naruto had. Something clicked in her mind. "That's it!" She covered her mouth after she realized she had said that out loud.

_*We are doing this __because__ Naruto is so close to Itachi. We aren't just breaking him out because he was wrongfully placed there.*_ Hinata smiled and continued to pack. When she was finished she looked out her window and sighed. "Neji and Father are supposed to be back tomorrow. I won't be here when they arrive…" She frowned. She was ashamed that she hadn't said a word to them before they left. Her father would be devastated. Her mood lifter a little when she saw Naruto walking throught the front gate of the village.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Hokage Mansion)**

The Third looked out his window at the village. "This will be one of my last views from up here." Kurenai nodded, sadly. "It's tonight, isn't it?" The Third Hokage continued to stare out the window peacefully. "Yes. Tonight is the night that Naruto, Hinata, and Shino will break into the ANBU Headquarters to confront Danzo."

Kurenai frowned. "Are you sure there is nothing we can do?" He nodded slowly and turned to look Kurenai in the eye. "Unfortunately, we wouldn't be much help even if we could do something. This is their fight. Getting involved would most likely start a riot in the village. My duty is still to maintain peace for as long as I can."

The Third sat at his desk and sorted through some papers. He handed one to Kurenai. "What is this?" She asked. "That," he replied, "is the file of Minato Namikaze." She jumped as she realized what she had in her hands. "But, why give it to me?" The Third smiled. "When Danzo becomes Hokage, he will destroy all records of Naruto Uzumaki, including the file you hold in your hands."

She frowned and looked down at the file. "So I am entrusting you with its safety. Make sure that it is here when Naruto comes back for the village." She nodded as the Thrid held up another file. "This is all the proof you will need of Danzo's corrupt nature. Revealing that will loosen his grip on the village." Kurenai was confused. "But sir, why don't you just reveal this now?" He smiled and turned around to once again look out at the village.

"Letting the villagers see that now will cause complete chaos. There is no one ready to take my place with the exception of Danzo. They will assue that it is all false and it will reinforce their decision to replace me." Kurenai was worried. She didn't know what would happen after her team raided the ANBU Headquarters. "It will be alright my dear." The Third smiled as he saw Naruto coming through the village gates.

**Hidden Leaf Village (Front Gate)**

Naruto walked through the gates and nodded towards the guards. They eyed him suspiciously but let him pass. The sun was starting to set. Naruto was glad that Sasuke didn't actually fight him. He was going to need all of his energy for tonight.

He started to walk towards the Hyuuga mansion to see what Hinata was doing, but was stopped by a group of his classmates. "Hey, Naruto, I havn't seen you in awhile." Kiba walked towards Naruto but didn't get very close. He was with a few others that took part in the Chuunin exam. Sakura and Shikamaru were with him, as were Tenten and Choji.

"Hey guys, sorry I havn't been around much. I've been pretty busy training." Saskura smiled. "That's alright Naruto." Choji chimed in, "We were heading out to get some food. Do you wanna come?" Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, I'm in kind of a hurry. I have to see someone." Kiba shrugged. "Alright, see you later Naruto."

Naruto ran towards the mansion. He had to see Hinata before tonight. As he got closer, he saw her standing in the window. He smiled as she saw him. He walked up to the door and right as he started to knock, the door opened and she flew into his arms.

Naruto was caught off-guard and almost fell. "Whoa. What was that for Hinata?" He laughed until he realized that she was crying. "Hinata, what's wrong?" She just squeezed him tighter and he took the hint. He wrapped his arms around her and they stayed silent for awhile.

"I'm scared about tonight." She was shivering as he held her. "I know, but we are ready." She sniffed and looked up at him. "But what if we aren't?" Naruto smiled and kissed her gently. "We are." She seemed convinced and she rested her head on his chest.

**Hokage Mountain (Near Midnight)**

The three of them stood ready. They were close to the entrence but stopped long enough to go over the plan once more. "I go in alone. Ok?" Naruto was very serious as he looked at his teammates. Shino nodded. Naruto then looked at Hinata. She frowned. "I think we should come with you Naruto."

Naruto shook his head swiftly. "Hinata, we've talked about this." Hinata didn't give up. "We have a better chance if we all go together—" Naruto interrupted, "A better chance of all of us getting caught in the same trap!" Hinata flinched. Naruto was speaking more harshly than he normally would.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I just don't want to risk the team's safety. We need to stick with the original plan." Hinata frowned and slumped her head. "Ok, we stick with the plan." Naruto smiled faintly. "Good, now let's—" Naruto tensed and was flipped onto the ground before he could finish his sentence. Shino and Hinata were instantly prepared and Shino's insects swarmed the ninja.

While the ninja was distracted, Hinata's hands became covered in water and she struck at the ninja, causing him to stumble over. The insects kept him from making any noise. Naruto cursed. "Dammit, they know we are here. We have to hurry." Naruto looked at his teammates and they both nodded. They all ran towards the entryway. Once inside, Shino and Hinata turned around to cover Naruto's back as Naruto ran further into the darkness.

**ANBU Headquarters (Basement)**

Naruto ran fast. The darkness was almost to thick to see through. He hadn't run in to anything yet so he decided to continue running straight. Suddenly, he started to walk slowly. He noticed that his footsteps sounded different. He was no longer in a corridor. "Very good Naruto."

Naruto went for his kunai but something smashed it out of his hand and Naruto hit the floor hard. Torches started to light up around the room. One by one they illuminated more of the room until only one remained dark. A figure walked forward.

"Naruto, I see that you made it. I was starting to worry that you didn't care about Itachi." Naruto beared his teeth at the figure. "So you're Danzo." The man smirked as his face lit up. "Yes, and I believe I know why you're here. You want to save Itachi. How foolish of you. You know his crime and yet you still want to save him?"

Naruto kept his eyes on Danzo and stood up. "What he did never changed how I saw him. I know my sensei. Better than any of you ever did." Danzo looked disgusted. "Is that so? Well then…" He stepped aside as the last torch lit. Underneath it was Itachi, kneeling with his head down.

"Itachi-sensei!" Naruto started to run towards him but stopped just before a kunai impaled him. "Now, now Naruto. Let's not be impatient." Danzo smiled as Itachi showed his face. Naruto was horrified. There was a scar cut into Itachi diagonally from the right of his forehead down to the left side of his chin. "What did you do to him?!"

Danzo chuckled. "We merely kept him alive until your arrival. We were going to kill him, but then I had a better idea." Naruto was shaking with rage as Danzo continued to smile. "I thought it would be better for you to kill him." Just then, Itachi lept up and dashed towards Naruto, barely missing as Naruto dodged out of the way.

"Itachi-sensei, what are you doing!?" Naruto jumped aside once more as Itachi threw himself at him with a kunai in his hand. He lunged again and this time cut Naruto's arm. Naruto tried to jump away but Itachi landed a spinning kick on his ribs, sending him flying. Naruto rolled on the ground and stood up quickly.

"I'm afraid he can't hear you. He is under an extremely powerful genjutsu, much like Tsukuyomi." Naruto gritted his teeth as he dodged Itachi once more. "You have no choice but to fight him Naruto. Only then will he stop." Danzo motioned towards the doorway that Naruto assumed he came in from and a giant iron gate slammed down. "And now you have nowhere to run."

Naruto didn't know what to do. Itachi ran at him once more and this time Naruto's insincts kicked in. He twisted out of the way of Itachi's kunai and grabbed his arm. Naruto tried to fling Itachi onto the ground but Itachi was too strong. Itachi dropped his weight and sweeped Naruto's legs. Naruto rolled away as soon as he hit the ground, just barely avoiding Itachi's fist. **"Crater Fist."** The ground around Itachi bent inwards as the cement crumpled under his power.

Naruto stood up and blocked Itachi's kick. _*Damn! He's too fast.* _He jumped away and Itachi jumped after him. Naruto formed a few handsigns but was cut off as Itachi grabbed his collar and flung him to the ground. Naruto landed hard and Itachi landed next to him.

"Naruto." Naruto flinched. He heard Hinata's voice, but it was coming from Itachi! "What's the matter Naruto?" Itachi said with Hinata's voice. "Don't you remember?" Naruto rolled away from Itachi's kick and quickly jumped up. Danzo was concerned. _*What is he doing? Why is he teasing Naruto?*_

Naruto was confused. _*Voice Mimicry? Crater Fist… These are the first jutsu Itachi-sensei tried to teach me!*_ Naruto stood up straight and threw a few shuriken at Itachi. **"Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" **The shuriken multiplied over and over. Itachi made a few handsigns. **"Hardened Chakra Bubble Jutsu."** He was encased with a bubble and the shuriken bounced right off of it.

Naruto smiled. _*He's trying to communicate with me.* _Naruto and Itachi ran at eachother. They formed the same exact handsigns and held out their right hand. Simultaneously they said, **"Single Pronged Seal Jutsu!"** At the last minute, Naruto dodged out of the way to avoid the seal, but Itachi did not. The seal hit him on the head and what seemed like a network of lightning arced through his body.

"Stop them! Stop them at once!" Danzo shouted as dozens of ANBU jumped down to surround them. Itachi looked up at Naruto and they locked eyes. Itachi smiled as three tomoe swirled into his eyes. He whispered, **"Tsukuyomi."**

**That's all for this episode guys! I'm giving you all a unique opportunity. If there is anything you want to know about Itachi or his past or actions in this story, let me know. I will be sure to include it in the next chapter. All will be revealed soon enough. Please review and wait for me.**


	32. Revelation

**Hello everyone. I am sorry to say that this chapter is going to be about 90% talking. We are nearing the end of this ark and a lot of things have to be cleared up before going any further. So prepare yourself!**

**Tsukuyomi Realm**

Naruto stared blankly. He knew that Itachi used Tsukuyomi on him, but everything looked the same. "Confused, Naruto?" Itachi grinned as he walked closer to Naruto. The room was silent and everything except for Itachi and Naruto seemed to be frozen in place. "What is this place?" Naruto asked.

"This is the Tsukuyomi realm. At least, one version of it." Itachi replied. "I can make this illusion be whatever I like. For example…" The room shifted and Naruto was in the academy. He saw himself frozen at the moment the Third called him up to receive his headband. "Itachi-sensei, this is awesome." Itachi just smiled.

Naruto then frowned. "What are we doing here Itachi-sensei? I broke you free from the jutsu that was controlling you right? Why can't we just escape?" Itachi shook his head. "I'm sorry Naruto, but it's not the easy." Itachi turned around and Naruto's heart dropped. On Itachi's back was a seal. "It stands for 'death'." Itachi said as he turned back around. "I have already been marked. As soon as I release this jutsu, they will either take over my body again or kill me."

Naruto couldn't believe it. "But, there's a way around it right? There's always a way out, right?!" Naruto was starting to cry and tears streamed down his face. "There's got to be a way…" He said through sobs. "We worked so hard to get this far. There has to be a way to save you." Naruto wiped his eyes and Itachi walked closer. He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and when he looked up, he saw that Itachi was smiling.

"Do not cry Naruto. I know this is hard, but you have to trust that things are not as bad as they seem." Naruto shook his head. "This is as bad as it can get." Naruto argued. "I failed you." Itachi shook his head and grinned. "No, Naruto. You did not fail, you succeeded." Naruto was confused and finished wiping the tears away. "What do you mean?"

Itachi took his hand off of Naruto's shoulder and backed up a few feet. He activated his sharingan and three tomoe swirled into his eye. "Now that you are here in this realm, I can answer any question you want. We have plenty of time, but not an unlimited amount." Naruto took a deep breath. "I don't even know what to ask."

Itachi smiled. "I'll start then. Naruto, do you know who the Fourth Hokage was?" Naruto nodded. "Say his name, out loud." Naruto nodded again. "Minato Namikaze." As Naruto said the words, they formed in front of him. Itachi waved his hand through the words and they were moved around. Some changed and they formed the words 'Naruto Uzumaki'." Naruto was confused. "The Fourth Hokage," Itachi began, "was your father, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened and he stepped back. "The Fourth…was my father?" Itachi nodded. "You need to know what happened all those years ago. When the Nine-Tails attacked the village, your father, Minato, confronted it. Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous jinchuuriki of the beast. After giving birth to you, the seal weakened and the Nine-Tails broke free. Long story short, in a last effort to stop the demon from destroying the Hidden Leaf, your father performed a forbidden jutsu, the Death Reaper Seal. The seal stored part of the Nine-Tails away forever, while the rest of its chakra was sealed into you. However, the amount of chakra required was so vast, that it drained both your mother and father of all of their chakra."

Naruto was speechless. He tried to take it all in and it overwhelmed him. "So, they protected the village by sealing it inside of me?" Itachi nodded. "Your father thought that if he severed the Kyuubi's chakra in half, you might be able to learn to control it." Itachi frowned. "But always remember Naruto, the Nine-Tail's chakra is nothing to fool around with. It can overwhelm your own chakra and kill you." Naruto nodded.

"Now then, since we don't have an unlimited amount of time, I will tell you what I know before you ask questions." Naruto interrupted. "Why is our time limited Itachi-sensei." Itachi smirked. "That's a loaded question, but I assume you mean during Tsukuyomi?" Naruto nodded. "Well Naruto, while in the realm of Tsukuyomi, you can experience days of life, perhaps even weeks before returning to the actual world. For the victim, the jutsu can be agonizingly painful, or peaceful, such as this conversation."

Naruto nodded, showing that he was listening. "However, for the caster, time has not entirely stopped. While skin and minor organs are not required during Tsukuyomi, my eyes, heart, and brain are all ageing during the entire jutsu." Naruto looked at Itachi questioningly. "So parts of you are older than other parts because of Tsukuyomi?" Itachi nodded. "Altogether, I've spent around forty years inside this jutsu."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Forty?!" Itachi nodded. "This jutsu is especially dangerous for the heart. I assume I have less than a year of Tsukuyomi time before my heart gives out." Naruto frowned and looked down. "However, due to my shortage of chakra, we can only stay here for about three days."

Naruto's brain was racing. He was thinking of everything, anything he could do to free his sensei. "Naruto, Danzo is planning to overthrow the Hokage. Instead of fighting him now, I need you to promise me something." Naruto nodded. "Sure, anything Itachi-sensei." He smiled. "Leave the Hidden Leaf. Find allies and get stronger. Right now, Danzo has the support of most of the village. If you fight him and lose, the village will be doomed."

It hit Naruto like a wall. "Leave the village? I mean, we were already planning to leave once I saved you," Naruto held back tears as he finished, "but where do we go without you?" Itachi replied, "You will need to travel fast to a village that is out of the Akatsuki's way. Southwest of here, in Wind Country, there is a little town called Adomai. "

Naruto nodded. "Here, let me show you." Itachi waved a hand in front of him and a map appeared. "Here is where we are. Hidden Leaf Village." Itachi says as he points at the center of the map. "Wind Country is down here. This village, the Hidden Sand Village, is where we went for our first mission." Naruto nodded and Itachi dragged his finger northwest of the village. "Here is Adomai. It is a small town and very few merchants travel through it."

Naruto nodded once more as the map faded. "What do we do when we get there Itachi-sensei?" Itachi frowned. "Unfortunately, most of my contacts from that village died long ago. However, there is one person who should be able to help you, assuming you can get on his good side. His name is Ryoku. He is a master of the Shadow Clone jutsu."

Naruto nodded again and smiled slightly. Itachi-sensei, a few days ago Yugao came to me. She said that she wanted me to save you." Itachi frowned and Naruto saw that it made him sad to think of her. "I wish I could have seen her one more time. What did she say?"

"She said that you two were more than friends." Naruto started. "Yes, we were at one time." Itachi replied. "In fact, she has been helping us all this time." Naruto's eyes widened. "What do you mean? She has been hunting us since day one." Itachi shook his head slowly. "Don't you remember Naruto? She is one of the best trackers in the ANBU. So why couldn't she find us?"

Naruto looked confused and didn't know where Itachi was going with this. "She found us several times and let us go. It was only after Danzo strengthened the seal on her that we had to hide underground. She came to me earlier that day. You saw her as she was leaving." Naruto's head was spinning as he remembered.

_*Naruto woke up early to check the traps he had set last night. It had been two years since he had left Hidden Leaf Village with Itachi. Naruto had trained himself to be a light sleeper and had mastered the art of setting traps and analyzing the landscape for the slightest disturbance._

_Naruto heard footsteps coming from his left side. Since he had not learned any jutsu and had limited taijutsu, he dove into cover. He peered around and saw a familiar purple-haired woman.__*Yugao again,*__Naruto thought as he watched her carefully. Yugao had been appearing more and more often lately and had been close to finding Naruto and Itachi many times. Naruto decided that he should return to Itachi as quick as possible to inform him._

_Itachi was packing up camp when Naruto arrived. "Itachi-sensei, Yugao is close by." Itachi said to Naruto without looking up, "I know, I think it is time we changed sites anyway." Naruto started to help Itachi pack up and proceeded to ask questions. "Why is Yugao always hunting us down?" Itachi stopped packing up and decided to let Naruto finish. "Well Naruto, I__am__a rogue ninja and Yugao is in the assassination division of the ANBU. That means that she has been assigned to deal with me personally. I know Yugao well enough to know that she takes her work very seriously."_

_Naruto seemed satisfied with that answer and finished tearing down the camp site, making sure to leave no trace of their presence. He looked up at Itachi and nodded his head, signaling that he was done. Itachi turned and started walking towards a large boulder. "Naruto, I think that it is time that we move in to the Uchiha Hideout." Naruto looked at him with curiosity. "Wait a minute, are saying that you have access to a hideout and we are only just moving in now?"_

_Itachi touched the boulder and it vanished, revealing a small trapdoor. "Yes, we are moving in just now because not only have you mastered the art of survival, but also because we cannot hide from Yugao forever in this forest." Naruto seemed to understand his reasoning, but he still could not hide the fact that he was a little disappointed. Both Itachi and Naruto jumped into the hole revealed by the trapdoor, and fell into the darkness.*_

Itachi shifted his weight to get Naruto's attention. "But, why did she do it Itachi-sensei?" Itachi sighed. "It would take me too long to explain how complicated love is, but you should know that she told me that she saw you fall that day." Naruto looked at Itachi with a curious look. "After she captured me, she saw you collapse just after crossing the bridge. She took you back to the hideout and even brought Shino and Hinata to you. She saved your life Naruto."

Naruto was taken aback. Everything was being revealed to him. All this time he thought that he knew what was going on, who was on what side. But now it all seemed to jumble up and twist. He felt sick. "Speaking of love…" Itachi said as Naruto looked up. "I know that you think you love Hinata, Naruto. But trust me, you do not yet know what love is."

Naruto frowned and looked down. "Do not worry. You will know what true love feels like when the time comes. Whether you feel it towards Hinata or someone else, I garuntee you will understand later." With that Itachi waited for Naruto to ask questions. After a minute of silence, Naruto spoke up.

"Itachi-sensei, there were two other things I wanted to ask about. While I was training, I found a room in the hideout that Shino said was encased in neutral chakra." Itachi nodded. "And what was the other?" Naruto continued. "I found an Akatsuki cloak behind your chair."

"I see," Itachi began, "neither of those are easy to answer." He took a deep breath. "I have an aquaintance in the Akatsuki. I rarely speak to him, but he asked me to wear the cloak when I do. I was unaware of his involvement with the Akatsuki until after my meeting with Kisame." Itachi continued. "That man also has the ability to manipulate neutral chakra, and he is the one who encased that training room in it. His name is Zetsu."

Naruto was shocked. "But you said that the Akatsuki are trying to capture me right? Why would you work with them?" Itachi waved his hands in front of him. "I am not working for them Naruto. And they don't know that I was training you. Of course, the incident at the Hidden Sand almost blew our cover, but it seems that they believed the story that Noeme Gibuntaro simply expelled a lot of chakra out of rage."

Itachi smirked. "And after that battle at Tenchi Bridge, they believed that the Noeme you fought was the same one that attacked the Kazekage. He is now being held by the Hidden Sand and awaiting trial." Itachi laughed. Naruto smiled lightly as tears came to his eyes. "I am going to miss you Itachi-sensei." Itachi smiled. "I'll miss you too. I raised you myself to be a fine shinobi. As far as I'm concerned, you are like a son to me."

Naruto smiled more and wiped the tears from his eyes. "Now then, I have something to give you." Itachi said as he gathered chakra and made a few handsigns. "What are you doing Itachi-sensei?" Itachi walked towards Naruto and explained as he continued the handsigns. "I am going to try something, now I want you to stay very still and trust me." Naruto nodded and chakra formed on Itachi's finger. He tapped Naruto's left palm, then his right, then he procedded to tap both of his feet and his stomach.

"You might feel a slight tingling." Itachi said as he tapped Naruto's head. **"Forbidden Art: Chakra Transferrence of the Six Gates!"** A massive shockwave enveloped the Tsukuyomi realm and Naruto fell backwards. He felt like his whole body was burning and he had a massive headache. His arms and legs would not respond and he just laid there in pain for a few minutes.

Itachi was breathing heavily. "I'm afraid I can't…tell you what I just did Naruto." He said between his breaths. "But if I did it right, you will know within twenty four hours." Naruto could feel his legs again and slowly stood up. He noticed that the room was getting fuzzy and started to fade. "That used the rest of my chakra. I'm sorry, Naruto." Itachi frowned. "It is time for me to go." Naruto held out his hand and tried to speak, but no words came out. The room shrank and Naruto felt as though he fell back into the real world.

**ANBU Headquarters**

Naruto looked around and saw several shinobi surrounding them. He looked over at Itachi and he was standing, but it looked like he was being controlled. "Now then, Naruto." Danzo started. "Where were we? Ah." Danzo motioned to the ninja who was controlling Itachi with puppet strings. Chakra started to flow through the threads and entered Itachi. His body started to envelope in red-hot chakra. Danzo smiled. **"Sussano'o."**

**Sorry guys but I'm going to have to end it there. Please review and wait for the next chapter. It's the finale!**


	33. The Final Battle

**Hello all readers! This is the epic finale of Leader by Fate. I hope to get this done and out by Christmas so let's get started!**

**Entrance to the ANBU**

Hinata and Shino waited quietly. "Naruto has been gone for awhile." Shino commented. Hinata nodded. "You weren't supposed to tell him that we wanted to go with him. We were going to wait until he was far enough ahead and then follow him, Hinata." She frowned. "I know, I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe he would have changed his mind…" Shino sighed and then smiled. "I know, so did I."

They both snapped their eyes back to the opening as they heard fire burning and steel ringing. They prepared for the worst. A blur flashed by them, catching them both off-guard. "Follow me! We have to get to Naruto!" The blur said as it went deeper into the darkness. Hinata and Shino looked at eachother and then followed it without a word.

**ANBU Headquarters**

The flames enveloped Itachi's body as Naruto's eyes widened. "Itachi." Naruto muttered. "Naruto, this is the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan." Danzo smiled widely as he watched. "Behold, Sussano!" The fire took the shape of an upper torso and arms started to form. A shield of fire appeared in one hand and a sword in the other.

xXxXxXxXxXx Overrated by Three Days Grace xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto dodged as the enormous weapon slashed through the air. He did a backflip and put his hands together. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" **Dozens of clones appeared around Naruto. The clones ran at Itachi . With one sweep, the great fire sword destroyed all but two of the Naruto clones. They charged at the fire only to be incinerated by its touch. _*Damn.*_ Naruto thought as he dodged the sword once more.

"Foolish boy." Danzo said as he chuckled. "You see, the flames are so intense that any physical attacks are rendered useless." Danzo smirked as the giant blade crashed into Naruto, sending him flying. Naruto rolled and stood up quickly. He was breathing heavily now. Whatever Itachi did to him in the genjutsu was taking its toll. "I'm sorry Itachi-sensei." Naruto said under his breath. "I have to end this fast."

Naruto dodged another attack and took out his blood scroll. He unsealed it and took out his swords just in time to block the giant fire sword. He struggled to hold it back but Itachi pushed through, breaking Naruto's guard and destroying the blood scroll. Naruto jumped back and slid on the ground. He jumped around looking for a way to get through Itachi's guard. Itachi spun his sword and caught Naruto in mid-air, causing Naruto to fall to the ground.

Naruto struggled to get up but he was too slow. The sword came down and Naruto couldn't move. _*Is this the end?*_ Naruto thought. All of a sudden the gate that Danzo closed crashed open and the fire sword was stopped in its tracks. Naruto looked up to see Hinata, Shino, and suprisingly, Sasuke holding the sword at bay. "What's the matter Naruto?" Sasuke said as he struggled to hold his guard. "Can't stand a little fire?"

Hinata's hands were enveloped in water and she swung at the fire sword. **"Engaging Strike!"** The sword flew back leaving Itachi vulnerable. **"Secret Art: Hive Swarm!"** Hundreds of insects flew towards Itachi's body. Some were burnt on contact but others managed to get through and started to drain some of Itachi's chakra. The flaming giant started to get smaller. "Enough!" Fire poured back into Sussano, killing all of the insects and sending the four ninja to the wall.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Danzo clapped slowly. "It looks like the rest of your team showed up. Even Sasuke showed to see the fall of Itachi." Danzo smirked. Naruto managed to stand up. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" He said weakly. "You had your teammates guarding the door instead of helping you, so I brought them in." Sasuke said. "We are here Naruto." Hinata said with a smile. Shino nodded. "We are with you."

Naruto smirked. "I'm sorry, I should have let you two come with me." Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Hey, Itachi is being controlled by a puppet jutsu. If you can cut the strings, we can beat him." Sasuke flinched. "What happened to saving him, Naruto!?" Naruto frowned and tears formed in his eyes. "Itachi pulled me into Tsukuyomi after I broke the jutsu the first time." He paused, dreading his next words.

"Well?" Sasuke said impatiently. "He has a death seal on his back." The three ninja were visably shaken. "A death seal?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto nodded his head. "As soon as we cut the strings, Danzo will kill Itachi." Sasuke grew angry. "What the fuck do we do then!?" Naruto frowned. "All we can do, is free him from Danzo's control."

Sasuke looked away in disgust. "Danzo…" Sasuke was shaking as Naruto regained his strength. "Sasuke, I know it hurts, trust me. But if we don't stop Itachi here…" Sasuke nodded and took a breath. "I know." He looked up at Danzo and then back at his brother. "I'll just have to get answers another way." Sasuke activated his sharingan and prepared to fight.

Hinata and Shino got ready too and Naruto looked at his sensei with determination. "Itachi-sensei, Danzo, this ends now."

xXxXxXxXxXx Carry the Blessed Home by Blind Guardian xXxXxXxXxXx

The giant fire sword swung down on the group and they scattered. Hinata flanked left and Shino flanked right. Sasuke ran forward around the sword as did Naruto. **"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" **Naruto's clones surrounded him and scattered, surrounding the titan of flame. With the odds tipped out of his favor, Danzo sent in a few Anbu ninja.

"Shino, Hinata, you two handle the ANBU while Sasuke and I deal with Itachi." Shino and Hinata nodded and went to battle with the ANBU. Sasuke leapt towards Itachi but was stopped when he was hit by the shield. He flew back and skidded to a halt. "Damn, his shield is in the way." Naruto's clones charged the Sussano, looking for an opening whil the real Naruto and Sasuke dodged the flame sword.

"We have to cut the strings." Naruto added. "Easy." Sasuke said with a smirk as he circled around Sussano. He found the chakra threads easily with his sharingan and jumped up to them. He pulled out a kunai and struck the threads. His eyes widened when he saw the kunai snap in half and he was back-handed by Sussano. Sasuke rolled on the ground and stood up again. "How?! How are the threads so strong?" He dodged again as Sussano swung wildly. "Sasuke!" Hinata said as she fought off the ANBU she was fighting. "The threads outside of the fire shell are encased in nearly unbreakable chakra. You have to cut the threads on the inside!"

Hinata dodged and struck the ANBU in the leg, causing him to fall to the ground. Naruto thought of something and picked up his sword Serra. "Sasuke, do you have a stronger weapon?" Sasuke nodded. "It's not at full power, but it is strong." A black cloth sheathe appeared on his back and he pulled out a long sword with a deep purple blade. On one side, it had "Uchiha" etched into it in red.

Naruto rolled again. "Alright, be ready to strike." Naruto poured chakra into his blade and it glowed green. He jumped behind Sussano and swung. **"Razor Bomb!"** A huge wave of wind crashed into Sussano, forcing the titan to drop to his knees and exposing the inner threads. Sasuke ran and jumped towards the thread. With one swift swipe, he cut the threads, breaking the connection between his brother and Danzo.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

The flames faded and Itachi fell to the ground. The seal on his back faded as he drew his last breath. Sasuke approached him quickly. "Brother…I'm sorry." Itachi smiled and looked at his younger brother with hollow eyes. He mouthed the words, "find the Hokage". Then he drifted off to the other world.

Sasuke stood up as Naruto, Shino, and Hinata backed towards him. "We have to go." Shino said as he blocked another ninja and had his swarm attack. Sasuke nodded and looked to Naruto. "There will be a time to avenge Itachi-sensei, but it is not now." Naruto said as he made a few more clones.

"You aren't going anywhere." Danzo motioned for dozens of more ANBU to join the fight and the four ran. They dodged incoming kunai as they headed for the exit. "This isn't going to end well Naruto!" Sasuke said as he dodged a shuriken that flew by his head. Naruto turned to look at Shino. "Shino, can you slow them down?"

Shino nodded and insects flew out of his coat as they ran. The insects swarmed the pursuing ninja but had little effect. Naruto made a few clones. "Everyone, split up. We will meet at Tenchi Bridge." Each of them nodded and took off with a Naruto clone. The real Naruto stayed with Hinata.

The two of them jumped from roof to roof towards the Hidden Leaf Village gate. They still had a lot of ANBU on their tail and Naruto was afraid they weren't going to make it. He heard a kunai coming and his instincts kicked in. He pushed Hinata out of the way as the kunai impaled his back. Naruto stumbled on the next roof but was helped up by Hinata.

"Naruto! Are you ok?" Naruto nodded slightly as they continued running on the ground. "I'll be fine. It's just a scratch." When the gate was in sight, Hinata thought she saw someone coming towards them. **"Byakugan!"** Hinata's heart dropped as she stopped at the gate. Naruto turned to look at her. "Hinata come on! We can't stop here."

Five ANBU landed behind them as Hinata turned to face them. "Hinata, what's wrong?" Naruto asked. "Your journey ends here Naruto." One of ANBU stepped forward holding a long sword in one hand. Naruto prepared himself for a fight and threw a kunai of his own. The leader of the ANBU blocked it and ran at Hinata. He swung his sword but was blocked at the last second.

"What the hell are you doing attacking my daughter!?" Naruto froze as he saw Hiashi parry the ninja and knock him away. "Mr. Hyuuga..." Hiashi did not turn and in an instant Neji was next to him. "What happened?" Neji asked as he activated his byakugan. "These ANBU are after Hinata and Naruto." Hiashi looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "Care to explain why?"

Before Naruto could say anything, Hinata explained. "It's a long story father…" Hiashi didn't look amused. "Then make it short." Hinata gulped and the ANBU stood back up. "Danzo of the ANBU kidnapped Itachi, Naruto's sensei, and told Naruto to turn himself in or Itachi would die. He wanted to break Itachi out by himself, but Shino and I offered to help."

Hiashi kept his cool but inside he was furious. "Why would you do something as foolish as that? The ANBU are elite ninja, you could have been killed." Hinata shook her head. "But we weren't. We had to save Itachi." Hiashi let his fury show now. "WHY! Why is he so important!?—"

"—What if it was you?!" Hinata said back, yelling at her father for the first time in her life. She was on the verge of tears. Hiashi loosened up. "Itachi was like a father to Naruto! If they had taken you, would you have me stay home and do nothing!" Hinata was crying now as tears freely flowed from her eyes. Hiashi took a deep breath and said nothing for a minute.

"No…I'm proud of you, Hinata. Even though it may sound half-hearted now, I'm sure I will feel that way later." Hinata wiped her tears away and sniffed. Naruto stood in awe at how 'calm' Hiashi was being. "Hiashi Hyuuga, if you do not move out of the way, then you will be in the same boat as them." The ANBU threatened.

Hiashi nodded, showing that he understood. "Just give me one moment with my daughter." The ANBU hesitated. "That isn't a request." Hiashi said as he glared at him. Hiashi turned to Hinata and Naruto. "Where will you go now? You can't stay in the village." Naruto nodded. "Sir, we were headed for Adomai Village, in the Land of Wind."

Hiashi nodded. Hinata was about to cry again. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Hiashi smiled a little. "It's alright." He said in a soothing tone. "If you had told me sooner, I wouldn't do this…" Hiashi turned around and took a fighting stance. "Uncle Hiashi, what are you doing?" Neji said with disbelief.

"Neji, go home. I don't want you to get caught up in this. Naruto, take care of Hinata. Now go!" Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing and Naruto grabbed her arm. He pulled her away and started to run. One of the ANBU charged and Hiashi punched the air. **"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm." **A wave of air flew at the ninja, throwing him back. And then, Naruto and Hinata were too far away to see anything.

**Tenchi Bridge**

Shino was the first to arrive. He was annoyed and grateful that he attracted the least amount of ANBU. Once they were far enough away from the others, he easily lost them. The Naruto clone dissappeared and a few minutes later, Sasuke showed up. "Were you followed?" Shino asked calmly." Sasuke shook his head. "No. Have Naruto and Hinata arrived yet?" Shino shook his head in response and they waited.

About an hour later, they saw Naruto approching with Hinata. "About time." Shino joked. Naruto smiled slightly as did Hinata. Sasuke smirked and stopped leaning on a tree. "That was one hell of a breakout." Sasuke commented. Naruto nodded slowly. The night had been a long one. Even after Hiashi had stepped in, more ANBU followed them. They were lucky.

"Sasuke, thank you for your help." Naruto was breathing heavily as he talked. Sasuke nodded. "You probably would have died if I didn't get Hinata and Shino to follow me." Naruto chuckled a little. "Yea. I owe you one." He sat on the ground to take a rest. The sun was rising. "It's time for me to go. But I'll come back for that favor." Naruto nodded and Sasuke left.

Naruto sat for a few minutes to catch his breath and Hinata sat beside him. Shino took a deep breath and sat down too. "Did everything go well? Something must have happened for you to be so late." Hinata nodded, letting Naruto recover. "My father crossed our path at the village gate." Shino didn't look shocked. "He took our side…" She frowned and Naruto grabbed her hand.

"He made a choice Hinata." Naruto said as his breathing returned to normal. "He wanted to protect you, just like I do." Hinata smiled a little and the sun started to shine over the horizon. "Naruto." Shino said as he stared at Naruto. "Your eyes, the irises are splitting!" Naruto was confused and Hinata moved Naruto's head so that she could see.

"It looks familiar." Hinata said. **"Byakugan."** Her veins pulsed as she looked into Naruto's eyes. "It looks similar to…the sharingan?" Naruto blinked as his irises split into three tomoe. "But," Hinata added, "the irises are blue. And they look like stars." Shino put his hand on his chin. "But no one outside the Uchiha clan can have the sharingan. It's unheard of."

Naruto closed his eyes and when he opened them, the irises were rotating. "They are rotating the wrong way too. The sharingan rotates clockwise but yours is rotating counterclockwise." Shino was stumped. "Well, when I was with Itachi in the Tsukuyomi realm, he did something to me. He placed a lot of seals on me and then chakra just came from nowhere." Naruto rubbed his head. _*Itachi-sensei, was this your final gift?*_

**Alright, that marks the end of Leader by Fate! Thanks for sticking with it through to the end everyone! I have just a few comments. No, Naruto does not have the real sharingan and no they have not just suddenly forgotten about what just happened to Itachi. You have to read the next ark to learn more about it. Sasuke ****will**** find answers another way and he had certain reasons for coming to Naruto's aid. I might be adding Sasuke's story line to this ark so that his character makes more sense. I will leave a link to the next ark as soon as I finish chapter one, just check back later. I will not be putting music suggestions in the next ark (unless it is requested). Lastly, leave a review and stick around for ark 2: Leader by Power.**

** s/10252647/1/Leader-by-Power**


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